Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
#1Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
Posted: 6/15/23 at 12:19am
Has anyone seen it yet? How's the show? How's the line looking?
#2Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
Posted: 6/15/23 at 2:54am
As with last year, they've been posting that they have extra tickets pretty late in the day. Thinking about going on Sunday and curious about what the line will be like on a normal weekend day.
#3Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
Posted: 6/15/23 at 7:31am
jkcohen626 said: "As with last year, they've been posting that they have extra tickets pretty late in the day. Thinking about going on Sunday and curious about what the line will be like on a normal weekend day."
I imagine tickets to this will be easy to get throughout the day. On top of the fact that there are no celebrities in the cast, it’s a 2-month run, so there’s less of a dash to see it before it closes a week and a half after officially opening.
Gypsy_Mamma<3
Chorus Member Joined: 6/15/08
#4Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
Posted: 6/16/23 at 11:04am
Pacing is all over the place and it needs significant work. 1/4th of the audience left at intermisson.
LarryD2
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/1/14
#5Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
Posted: 6/16/23 at 5:08pm
Gypsy_Mamma said: "Pacing is all over the place and it needs significant work. 1/4th of the audience left at intermisson."
What is the running time at the moment?
Sutton Ross
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/13
#6Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
Posted: 6/16/23 at 5:36pm
Gypsy_Mamma said: "Pacing is all over the place and it needs significant work. 1/4th of the audience left at intermisson."
I agree, it was kind of a mess. I didn't leave but much of my row did. I hope it tightens up.
Gypsy_Mamma<3
Chorus Member Joined: 6/15/08
#7Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
Posted: 6/16/23 at 6:10pm
Let out around 11:10p on Tuesday, stalled slightly during the first ten minutes by an audience emergency. Someone seemed to go unconscious in the middle section, and a women shouted at the stage to please stop and call a medic. Many medical professionals in the audience jumped up to assist and he was escorted out seemingly fine. The show resumed after 3-5 minutes.
lila12
Chorus Member Joined: 8/3/16
#8Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
Posted: 6/16/23 at 7:36pm
I was also there Tuesday. Hard agree that it’s a messy production and didn’t enjoy it which was a bummer. No trouble at all with tickets - tons of empty seats and confirming many people walked out early.
#9Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
Posted: 7/13/23 at 1:26am
Anyone been lately? Hearing no buzz on this.
Ernest_Shackleton
Swing Joined: 7/13/23
#10Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
Posted: 7/13/23 at 10:23am
I was there last night and it was unfortunately disappointing. It pulled out every trope people use when they're trying to "modernize" Shakespeare without really understanding them and while the performers are all strong the direction is all over the place so there's very little emotional through line. Honestly it made me wish Fat Ham (which weirdly it seems to crib from at times) was still running so that I could just go back and see that again
Voter
Broadway Star Joined: 5/19/20
#11Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
Posted: 7/13/23 at 4:48pm
Ernest_Shackleton said: "I was there last night and it was unfortunately disappointing. It pulled out every trope people use when they're trying to "modernize" Shakespeare without really understanding them and while the performers are all strong the direction is all over the place so there's very little emotional through line. Honestly it made me wish Fat Ham (which weirdly it seems to crib from at times) was still running so that I could just go back and see that again"
Kenny Leon needs to take a break and they need to bring a new director in. Everything I've seen from him in the last two years has been tired or underrehearsed.
Jumpin_J
Stand-by Joined: 12/5/07
#12Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
Posted: 7/14/23 at 7:27pm
Full disclosure: Not a Kenny Leon fan at all. That being said, I've heard it's a mess. Reviews haven't been good. You also don't start the play with "To be or not to be" when people know it comes later in the play. He's also recycling his set from Much Ado which people who haven't seen last year is out of context.
#13Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
Posted: 7/14/23 at 7:47pm
Every choice they made with this production has just been so strange with the sole exception of that awesome art. Why do we need Hamlet again? Why do we need Kenny Leon again?
bettyco
Chorus Member Joined: 3/28/19
#14Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
Posted: 7/14/23 at 7:51pm
Ernest_Shackleton said: "I was there last night and it was unfortunately disappointing. It pulled out every trope people use when they're trying to "modernize" Shakespeare without really understanding them and while the performers are all strong the direction is all over the place so there's very little emotional through line. Honestly it made me wish Fat Ham (which weirdly it seems to crib from at times) was still running so that I could just go back and see that again"
The astroturf on stage made me think of Fat Ham immediately the whole show just made me wish I was watching that again.
#15Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
Posted: 7/14/23 at 7:57pm
jkcohen626 said: "Every choice they made with this production has just been so strange with the sole exception of that awesome art. Why do we need Hamlet again? Why do we need Kenny Leon again?”
I mean….questioning why someone is staging Hamlet again is a losing battle.
Phantom4ever
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/17/07
#16Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
Posted: 7/27/23 at 8:30pm
Any updates on the line? Do you think if I get there around 1 or 2pm tomorrow I'll be able to get tickets for the 8pm show tomorrow (Friday, July 28th) Thanks for any insights!
#17Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
Posted: 7/27/23 at 8:34pm
You can probably show up any time and get tickets.
#18Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
Posted: 7/27/23 at 9:24pm
Phantom4ever said: "Any updates on the line? Do you think if I get there around 1 or 2pm tomorrow I'll be able to get tickets for the 8pm show tomorrow (Friday, July 28th) Thanks for any insights!"
I lined up at 10 for the noon distribution yesterday and easily got 4 seats together with a friend. The show was sold out by showtime with a pretty long standby line, but there may still be seats available around 1.
I thought the show was pretty good! Maybe my expectations were low, although the pacing in act 2 lagged, but I thought it was one of the better productions I’ve seen in the park in the last decade plus. I’ve never seen a production of Hamlet that I haven’t wanted to cut at least a half hour from though.
MikeFarrell
Swing Joined: 9/7/23
#19Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
Posted: 9/7/23 at 12:43pmWhen I was there, the situation was the same. There were not many people at all, and the half left. I stayed till the end, but I can't say that I received a lot of pleasure. I like Hamlet a lot, and I always try to visit all the performances. And the next week is the deadline for my uno paper about Hamlet, so I'll have a chance to write more. I also came across this page https://edubirdie.com/examples/hamlet/, which provides many useful and interesting examples that will certainly help me. And I can't wait for the student performance next month, and I think it will be something amazing. Updated On: 9/20/23 at 12:43 PM
jakethesnake
Stand-by Joined: 5/11/06
#20Hamlet- Shakespeare in the Park
Posted: 9/7/23 at 6:04pm
MikeFarrell said: "When I was there, the situation was the same. There were not many people at all, and the half left. I stayed till the end, but I can't say that I received a lot of pleasure"
Thank you for this very helpful response posted almost a month after the show closed. 
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