When the lights come up on St. Paul’s School’s production of Hamlet, don’t think you’ll know what to expect.
Because the first thing you’ll hear is Bruno Marz’s “Marry You.” And the first thing you’ll watch is a dancing overture. After all, Queen Gertrude is marrying Claudius. It’s a party and you’re invited.
It’s the first of many unique liberties Director Hugh Macgregor has taken with William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy. Perhaps the most striking change is the character Hamlet herself.
Yes, herself.
During a rehearsal Tuesday, Macgregor said his wife, novelist Virginia Macgregor, had been asking him to direct Hamlet for some time. However, he felt that a teenage boy didn’t have the emotional maturity for the heavy role.
Then, the “what ifs” came, he said.
What if Hamlet had been a girl?
With that in mind, casting began with students jokingly calling it “Pamlet.” Macgregor said that if a male actor wowed him, he might have reconsidered, but that wasn’t the case.
Macgregor cast Lark White, a woman of color, in the role of Hamlet, instead of a Nordic-looking man.
“It’s such a rare opportunity,” White said. “I just can’t believe its mine to take.”
White, 16, of Alexandria, Va., is a veteran of the St. Paul’s stage, having performed in five high school plays including in a leading role as Aunt Abby in the fall production of Arsenic and Old Lace.
Despite the outward differences between herself and the character she portrays, White explained that Shakespeare’s writing requires self-awareness and feeling a connection with the character.
White explained that because the role is so famous, dark and difficult she was struggling with feeling inadequate. In the play, Hamlet also struggles with feelings of inadequacy.
“The core of it speaks to the emotions that connect all of us,” White said. Despite the tragic plot, she said there’s something for everyone to relate to in the play.
“For me, I most like leaving the theater feeling understood,” she added.
Macgregor said that having a woman in the role also could help explain part of the plot.
After the death of the king in feudal succession, Hamlet should have become king. Instead, Claudius (played by Reece Jacobsen) becomes king and marries his brother’s wife, Gertrude (Priscilla Hunnewell).
If Hamlet was a woman, it would explain the slight.
Then, there’s also the issue of the war with Norway. Though Macgregor has pared back the subplot of the war, he pondered another “what if.” What if Princess Hamlet and Prince Fortinbras were supposed to have an arranged marriage, but Hamlet broke it off for love of Ophelia (Blake Letourneau).
“We’ve asked the ‘what if’ question a thousand times,” Macgregor said.
Futhermore, it allows the play to explore issues of gender and equality.
“Gender matters,” Macgregor said. He explained that having worked with driven women and being the father of two daughters, something needs to be done to address women being underrepresented.
“Seeing Hamlet – one of Shakespeare’s great heroes – wronged for her gender presents a great opportunity to explore and understand the challenges faced by young women, sidelined in male-dominated worlds,” he writes in the program.
Other members of the cast include Cyril Amanfo as Horatio, Luc Bryant as Marcellus and the priest, Patrick Fisher as Barnardo, Yebin Won as Polonius, Adam Tahyer as Laertes, Wyatt Ellinwood as the ghost of the king, Emily Abbruzzese as Rosencrantz, Nina Parker as Guildenstern, Patrick Fisher as Claudio and Osric, and Emily Barker, Mary Grace Beastrom, Isabelle Gorrivan, Aaron Magloire, Celia Vergara and Alex Venero as the players and ensemble.
“We’ve got such a fantastic cast and director,” White said.
Shows will be held at the St. Paul’s School New Space Theatre on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are free and you can make reservations at theatre@sps.edu.
(Sarah Pearson can be reached at features@cmonitor.com or 369-3324.)