Brooke Markham to Star in Gender-Bending Immersive Production In NoHo

Actress Brooke Markham known for the CW's In the Dark, Friend Request, Youtube Red's Foursome and Fullscreen's Cassandra French's Finishing School is starring in a new experiential production of Shakespeare's Hamlet in North Hollywood. Kelsey Landon is set to direct and will produce with Emma Berdie Donson and Brooke Markham. Others cast in the production include Jacob McCarthy as Ophelia, known for A.P. Bio and The Last Summer, Derek Webster as Gertrude known for his roles in CW's In the Dark, The Whispers, and The Newsroom, and Eddie Leavy as Horatio known for A.P. Bio and Best. Worst. Weekend. Ever.

The production is a 90-minute rendition of the classic played in a garden tea shop (TEAPOP) in North Hollywood with imaginative lighting effects, a DJ, fog, and audience participation. This is Markham's second foray into theatrical producing and Landon's directorial debut, though she has trod the boards of many regional theatres including the famous Guthrie Theatre in Minnesota, on Broadway, and at Lincoln Center. In a town filled with smartphones and film, Landon hopes to truly immerse attendees in a simple story that has ensnared some of our greatest minds and hearts for hundreds of years.

This innovative production is especially timely considering the current climate of Women's Marches and inclusion riders, but the idea of a female Hamlet is not necessarily new. The first Hamlet ever captured on film was played by Sarah Bernhardt in 1900 and many will remember Katherine Hepburn's 'To be or not to be' speech in the 1933 film Morning Glory. Joseph Papp, who directed a production with a female Hamlet in 1982 for The Public Theater in New York, had this to say about the reversal, ''I have always felt that there is a strong female side to Hamlet - not feminine so much as female. To me that has to do with an easier capacity to express emotion." Landon responds, "Female strength is really interesting to me, in all the ways that it's exuded and perceived. Being able to explore that through these iconic characters allows us to delve deeper into their psyches. Shakespeare, for me, is the search for truth and what better way to continue searching for the truth than to open the roles to a different gendered analysis?"

Performance dates are as follows: May 31st, June 1st, June 7th, and June 8th all at 8pm. Tickets may be purchased here for $20 or at the door for $25. Ticket holders should be aware the show is a promenade experience and therefore does not provide consistent seating for all attendees (though wheelchairs will absolutely be accommodated), strobe effects, fog, and possible audience participation.

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