Review: WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S HAMLET at TWIN LAKES PLAYHOUSE

To be or not to be......if you are talking about being at the Twin Lakes Playhouse, 600 West Sixth Street, in Mountain Home, then the answer is a definite YES. William Shakespeare’S HAMLET is playing this weekend through June 18th, and you don’t want to miss it. The cast will blow you away as you get caught up in the theatrical magic that this community theatre has created.  

Prince Hamlet (McKoy Dobbs) has come home from school to mourn his father’s death and is shocked to find that his mother Queen Gertrude (Kelsey Ledford) has already married King Hamlet’s brother King Claudius (Mike Horburg). When Bernardo (Cayden Sabella) and Marcella (Caitlin Leggitt) see a ghost, they alert Horatio (Trey Wentworth). Then, Horatio tells Hamlet about a ghost that looks just like his father, so Hamlet decides to check it out for himself. When Hamlet does see the ghost (Dr. Ronald Tilley) of his father, he has Hamlet seek revenge for his death. Meanwhile, Royal Attendant Polonius (Mike Johnson) tells his son Laertes (Logan Bresette) goodbye since he is going away, but Laertes tells his sister Ophelia (Rebecca Riley) to stay away from Hamlet. When Hamlet starts acting peculiar, King Claudius has Rosencrantz (Lizzy Smith) and Guildenstern (Symphony Fox) hang out with Hamlet to see what’s going on. As the story progresses, Hamlet has traveling actors perform a play that he wrote about his father’s death, which upsets Claudius, who decides Hamlet must die. Hamlet also decides that Claudius must die. With this being a very bloody Shakespearean play, you can guess how this play ends, or don’t guess and go see the show. 

Directed by Olivia Wolfe, this version was so entertaining and pretty easy to follow. Even if you are not normally a Shakespeare fan, TLP may change your mind. The two-level set was beautiful, especially when the lights accentuated it properly. The lighting effects, sounds, and the introductory singing set the mood for what was to come. However, it was the acting choices that really piqued my interest. 

Dobbs’ Hamlet was very expressive. He had a very Johnny Depp-like quality to him that I thought was amusing and intriguing. The way he interacted with his fellow actors seemed a little peculiar, and somehow, he made it all work. It was all very entertaining. 

Horberg and Ledford were regal and flowed well together. As the drama increased, so did their reactions. Horberg’s Claudius expressed noticeable anger and Ledford’s Gertrude gradually became more and more distraught.   

Dr. Tilley as the ghost gave me a few jump scares; Wentworth, Sebella, and Leggitt were pretty humorous running around chasing after the ghost; Johnson’s Polonius was supportive and fatherly as expected; and I loved the sword fighting between Dobbs and Bresette.  

There were some surprises though that really delighted me. Lizzy Smith and Symphony Fox did a great job as crazy, flirtatious spies. Their dynamic to the story really brought that intrigue to the next level, and since seeing the comparison performance Smith gave from this show and as Anne from DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, this girl has proved to be very versatile. I was impressed that she pulled off a femme fatale type character for HAMLET.  

Another powerful performance came from Riley as Ophelia. Though she started out rather meek and reserved, when she turned crazy, she really committed to the insanity. She was so captivating. She connected with the audience with that performance so much so that the audience was holding their breath as she lost her mind. It was so powerful! 

Broadway World understands that it takes an army to put on a production of this magnitude. Crew consists of: Director-Olivia Wolfe; Assistant Director-Mike Horberg; Stage Manager-Jessica Wentworth; Stage Crew-Angie Leach, Cayden Sabella, Josh Holley; Light and Sound-Emily Dickerson, Olivia Wolfe; Set Design/Construction/Head Painter-Mike Johnson; Lobby Decoration-Lizzy Smith, Ila Smith; Fight Choreography & Training-Jason Hoyle; Head Shots-Michael J Todd of Light and Day Photography; Choir-Conductor McKoy Dobbs, Trey Wentworth, Josh Donner, Mike Johnson, Steve Fox, Symphony Fox, Kelsey Yearwood, Caitlin Leggitt, Caitlin Holley, Rebecca Riley, Megan Fox & Lizzy Smith. 

Cast for HAMLET is: McKoy Dobbs-Prince Hamlet; Mike Horberg-King Claudius; Kelsey Ledford-Queen Gertrude; Dr. Ronald Tilley-The Ghost; Trey Wentworth-Horatio; Mike Johnson-Polonius; Logan Bresette-Laertes; Rebecca Riley-Ophelia; Rosencrantz-Lizzy Smith; Symphony Fox-Guildenstern; Cayden Sabella/Caitlin Holley-Bernardo; Caitlin Leggitt-Marcella; Patty Kotlicky-Osric; Megan Basford-Fox-Voltemand; Phoenix Tilley-Prince Fortinbras; Josh Donner-Player King/Gravedigger/Captain/Priest; Steve Fox-Player Queen/Gravedigger; Kelsey Yearwood-Player Lucianus/Gravedigger; Connor Wentworth/Veda Rowe-Prologue; The Band-Caitlin Holley (Violin), Caitlin Leggitt (Recorder), Macenzie Avila (Percussion); Pirates-Craig Perry, Caitlin Holley, Connor Wentworth, Veda Rowe; Josh Holly-Courtier. 

For tickets and information about what Twin Lakes Playhouse has to offer, visit their website at http://twinlakesplayhouse.org.