Heart of My Mystery: Hamlet Project Plays Off-Bway in Oct.

Wordplay will present The Heart of My Mystery: The Hamlet Project, adapted by Barbara Bosch and Mark Ringer from the immortal work by William Shakespeare, at the Michael Weller Theatre (311 W. 43rd St., 6th fl.) from October 12th through October 29th, with opening night set for October 14th at 8 PM.

The Heart of My Mystery "places William Shakespeare's most famous play in juxtaposition with the critical response it has inspired. 'I am far from justifying the tragedy of Hamlet,' wrote Voltaire in 1749. 'It is a gross and barbarous piece, and would never be borne by the lowest of the rabble in France or Italy.' Two hundred years later, Sir Laurence Olivier said, 'I could see it and read it forever. Yes, the best play in the world.' Shakespeare's tragedy finds itself in dialogue with Samuel Johnson, Voltaire, Goethe, Harold Bloom and others. Ideas about the mystery of the central character take on the nature of theater itself. The result is an irreverent and scholarly study of Hamlet," according to press notes.

The Heart of My Mystery is directed by Barbara Bosch. It features Bob Adrian*, James Cleveland*, Peter Husovsky*, Maeve Maguire*, Rand Mitchell*, Chip Persons*, Natasha Piletich*, Mark Ringer, Antonio Suarez*, and Bryan Webster* (*appears courtesy of AEA). The designers include Louisa Thompson—costume designer, Robert Dutiel—set designer, Brian Hurley—sound designer, Edward Matthews—lighting designer and Jim Robinson—fight choreographer.

Bosch has acted and directed at theaters in the U.S. and abroad, including the Old Globe, Williamstown, the Magic Theater, Marin Theater, Sacramento Theater Company and the Pearl Theater. She has directed at Shakespeare festivals in California, Maine, Alaska, Wisconsin, Texas and Utah. Her work has also been seen in the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.  She is on the faculty of Hunter College, City University of New York.

Ringer has worked as an actor, director and dramaturg throughout the United States and Europe. He has played Macduff in Macbeth, Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Malvolio in Twelfth Night and Falstaff in his own adaptation of Henry IV, Parts One and Two in Shakespeare productions in California, Nevada and Maine. His book Electra and the Empty Urn: Metatheater and Role Playing in Sophocles was published by the UNC Press, Chapel Hill, in 1998. Amadeus Press has just published his second book, Opera's First Master: The Musical Dramas of Claudio Monteverdi. He is currently working on a translation/adaptation of Lessing's Nathan the Wise for Wordplay. He is an associate professor of theater at Marymount Manhattan College.

The show will play: Thursday – Saturday 8pm; Saturday 3pm; Sunday 7pm.  Tickets are $18, and $10 for students.  Tickets are available at www.theatermania.com or 212-352-3101