Little Shop of Horrors 2003

Eloquence without the elegance is how I'd describe Michael Stuhlbarg's scruffy, hyperactive and somewhat nerdy take on the title role in director Oskar Eustis' amusing hodgepodge of a production of Hamlet. Though perfectly placid for the first several minutes of his performance, silently contemplating his father's death and his uncle's marriage to his newly widowed mother at a downstage eternal flame that perpetually flickers its symbolism throughout the evening, he's soon wildly wringing his hands with nervous excitement, flailing his arms about in range and stomping his feet to the floor like the kind of actor he'll later be warning his players not to be. In fact, it's not until the prince starts feigning madness that he begins resembling a grown-up. It's not an interpretation that will tug at your soul, but it'll damn well get your attention without taxing your brain.