by Beulah F. Vega

6th Street Playhouse, in collaboration with the Jacobethan Theater Workshop, is presenting a ‘stripped down’ version of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet on their Monroe Stage through Saturday, June 21.

For those unfamiliar with the Jacobethan Theater Workshop, it’s the company that for the last few years has produced “Shakespeare in the Parking Lot” at the Arlene Francis Center. It is helmed by Lukas Raphael, who co-directs this production with Libby Oberlin and who has cast himself as Hamlet.

To its credit, this ‘stripped down’ version is well cut. The run time is reduced to about two hours and leaves the storyline more or less intact despite some significant changes. As per tradition, they’ve cut Fortinbras. More notably, the characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have been smooshed into a singular character christened Guildencratz (Sergio Diaz). Finally, the role of Horatio (Maddi Scarbrough) has been severely trimmed, which is an odd role to cut down, considering the importance of the character and the skill of the actor playing the role. Scarbrough brings a humanity to Horatio that is usually missing.

In addition to Scarbrough, there are some other fine performances here. Diaz‘s characters are consistently believable and understandable. David Noll’s Polonius is a fresh and compelling version of Shakespeare’s pompous papa. He gives the relationship with Ophelia more depth than usual, which allows for a stronger unravelling of the characters. 

As for Ophelia herself, Pilar Gonzales’ portrayal of the character struggles to find its footing in the first act amid all of Raphael’s Amadeus-level theatrics. However, she comes into her own in the second act. She handles the madness scene with strength, shrewdness, and grace. This is the best work I have seen Gonzales do, and I hope to see more of her in shows where she can display this tenacity. 

The show’s scenic design works well. Raphael’s set is a beautiful example of minimalist theater. It is functional, furthers the story, and, in its sparsity, immediately puts us in the cold, empty world that Hamlet inhabits.

The use of projections by Chris Schloemp (who also plays Claudius) was a logical choice to enhance the scenic design. Unfortunately, on the night I saw the show the projections were missing on the stage right side and askew on stage left for the entire first act. The second act projections were well done, so it’s a shame that they were not properly projected from the show’s start.

The thing about minimalism is that everything requires more precision than normal. There were too many little things, like no one noticing a gunshot in the queen’s bedroom or the random twenties-style silent film in the late 2008(ish) setting, that made this minimalist version of Hamlet less than what it could have been.

‘Hamlet’ runs through June 21 on the Monroe Stage at 6th Street Playhouse, 52 W. Sixth Street, Santa Rosa. Weds-Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm. $23–$30. 707.523.4185. 6thstreeetplayhouse.com

Photos by Eric Chazankin