BWW Reviews: HAMLET Opens in Cincinnati

The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company put on their production of Hamlet recently. Overall, it was a solid show and the acting was pretty good but I have to admit that there were elements that I didn't understand. Hamlet is a very long play yet there was only about a 20-30 minute period where I felt the time dragged by and that is an accomplishment in itself.

Let's start with the not so good this time. Like I said, there were elements that I just didn't get with the biggest one being the wardrobe. It wasn't period at all, in fact most of the men were in modern type suits. Women weren't in period dresses either, but they also weren't modern, which left the audience to question which century (let alone which decade) the play was set in. I get that 14th century wardrobe pieces are probably expensive but the assumption is that the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company would have such pieces in its arsenal.

The good was the acting, as it normally is with the CSC. Brent Vimtrup as Hamlet handled the role well. There were times when his portrayal of Hamlet's emotions seemed out of whack or misplaced but seeing as Hamlet is suppose to be pretty insane and paranoid throughout most of the show, crazy emotions aren't technically a wrong choice. The rest of the cast as a whole was all pretty good, there were a few weak spots but that is natural when the cast has such great veteran Shakespearean actors like Sara Clark and Bruce Cromer. Travis McElroy was a little overdramatic and Sherman Fracher didn't seem to really come into her performance until the second act.

Like I said, overall this was a pretty good put together show; it just had a few small issues. Definitely go see it if you have never seen a Hamlet production but be advised that is around 3 hours long.

Hamlet is playing at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company until February 9, 2014 and is directed by Brian Isaac Phillips.