Review: HAMLUKE at Rarig Stoll Thrust Theatre

There’s no way Hamluke should work. It’s Hamlet smashed into Star Wars, with puppets, live music, a dozen people playing thirty different roles, and a script that switches between iambic pentameter and lightsaber duels without warning. And yet—it does. Somehow, it does.

The show is exactly what it promises: Shakespeare meets the galaxy far, far away. But instead of being a one-joke concept stretched thin, it’s surprisingly layered, weirdly heartfelt, and completely packed with energy. It moves fast, doesn’t take itself too seriously, and still manages to land a few genuinely emotional moments in between the chaos.

Dylan Rugh plays Hamluke (yes, that's Luke as Hamlet), and he absolutely anchors the thing. He’s got that musical theater polish (makes sense, he’s done shows at Chanhassen, Children’s Theatre, Theatre Latte Da), but he also brings some serious comedic timing and just enough dramatic weight to make it more than just a spoof. There’s a moment late in the show—won’t spoil it—but he gets the crowd to go from laughing to dead silent in a beat. No small feat.

Opposite him, Duck Washington as Darthius steals pretty much every scene he’s in. He knows exactly what kind of show he’s in and plays it to the hilt—dramatic, ridiculous, and genuinely funny. Duck’s been around the Fringe block a million times, and you can tell. The audience was eating out of his hand.

The rest of the cast is a kind of joyful blur—Justine Carroll Melchior as Queen Gertrudala brings big diva energy, Elora Riley turns in a surprisingly sincere Opheleia (Leia + Ophelia, stay with me), and Clarence Wethern is doing wild, wonderful work bouncing between a ghost and a droid. I couldn’t even keep track of how many roles Jay Melchior played—at least four, maybe five—but he made each one distinct and hilarious.

There are Ewoks. There’s a Yoda gravedigger. There are scenes where the music (performed live, beautifully, by Aisha Ragheb and Hawken Paul) swells underneath Shakespearean monologues as someone in a Jedi robe shouts at the sky. And it all sort of… sings? The commitment is what sells it.

It’s messy in spots, sure. A few bits run a little long, and sometimes the Shakespeare and Star Wars parts butt heads instead of blending. But honestly, that’s part of the charm. This is a scrappy, inventive show that knows exactly what it is—and doesn’t pretend otherwise.

Director Brad Erickson clearly knows how to wrangle both chaos and talent. The cast looks like they’re having the time of their lives, and the audience absolutely was too. It’s the kind of show where you leave grinning and quoting lines on the sidewalk, even if you’re not entirely sure what just happened.

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