Aaron Rosenblum

'The play's the thing': In Working Mutt Production's site-specific "Hamlet," Ophelia (played by Jennifer Ferrin) peers down the stairway.

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Even if you’ve seen "Hamlet" dozens of times, you shouldn’t miss Working Mutt Production’s site-specific presentation at their new space - the basement of a turn-of-the-century opera house in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The former theater is currently under renovation, as it is being turned into a 21st-century apartment complex, and the basement where the play unfolds seems to be the repository for all the junk that was once in the building.

Director Charlie Sargent has made wise and innovative use of the space, taking the audience from one shadowy, musty, dungeon-like room to another as he explores the dark recesses of Hamlet’s mind. In this way, some of the play’s most famous scenes become eerily alive. The gravediggers sit atop a pile of discarded bricks. As Claudius prays, his new stepson (and former nephew), Hamlet, appears behind him, his body slowly appearing as he descends a narrow staircase. Hamlet’s father remains forever in the shadows of damnation. And the pervasive decay is, in fact, the state of Denmark.

Liz Sargent’s set design is truly brilliant. But even with this extraordinary confluence of place and play, "Hamlet" can only succeed with great acting, especially in the title role. The director, himself a graduate of North Carolina School of the Arts (NCSA), has relied heavily on fellow alumni.

Lucas Hall, a recent graduate of the school, gives Hamlet all the contradictory qualities of youth older actors so often don’t understand or fail to convey adequately - indecision and impulsiveness, cynicism and idealism, assertiveness and dependence. Hall makes Hamlet not only believable but also familiar. He is a bewildered young man overwhelmed by the adult world. It is the great tragedy of his life that by the time he grows up, it is too late.

If Hamlet is the obvious hero of the play, critics and directors are still debating who the villain is. In this production, Sargent seems to believe it is Polonius (Jeff Burchfield), counselor to the king. Conniving and ambitious, this Polonius is clearly in command.

Polonius, who, like Claudius, wears a business suit (Tara Hawks, with a BA from NCSA, is costume designer), is the archetypical avaricious CEO. He is more concerned with his personal welfare than the finances of his company. To make the relationship between his actions and his pocketbook perfectly clear, Sargent has Burchfield constantly transferring his loose change from hand to hand, so much so that his death comes as a welcome relief from that irritating jangling!

Robyne Parrish (another NCSA product) is a regal but weak Queen Gertrude (mother of Hamlet and new wife of Claudius). Sargent appears to be unwilling to explain the psychosexual relationship between mother and son. Given the numerous ways this aspect of the play has been tweaked and tormented, this was not entirely a disappointment. Still, one would like to have seen a little more depth in the role.

However, one of the nicest surprises in this production was Jerry Miceli’s interpretation of Polonius’ son, Laertes. Miceli (also of NCSA) plays Laertes with such sensitivity the character becomes as much a tragic hero as prince Hamlet. As the two young men lie dead at each other’s hands, the play becomes a double tragedy.

If Hamlet has lost a father, Laertes has lost a father and his sister (Ophelia). What’s more, he does not have to be prodded into action. He knows his duty and doesn’t hesitate to do it. If Hamlet had been so decisive, there might have been a lot less bloodshed. (There also would not have been a play.)

As something of a traditionalist, this reviewer is loathe to say it, but this "Hamlet" was sorely in need of additional cutting. Shakespeare’s plays are already long by modern standards and this one is his longest, but add to the running time the many moves of the audience from set to set, and by the end of the three-hour-long play, it’s a tossup who is wearier, the audience or the actors.

With this said, if you’re in good health and sure of step, don’t let the length of this show dissuade you. "Hamlet" may never be presented by a more dedicated and talented group of young professionals.

"Hamlet" runs through Oct. 30, Thursday through Saturday, at 7:30 pm, at Opera House [27 Arion Place at Broadway in Bedford-Stuyvesant]. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Reservations recommended. For reservations, call (718) 573-0433 or www.workingmuttproductions.org.

©2004 The Brooklyn Paper