Just got home from Hamlet!

[Lyric]

I am tired and for some reason my left arm is sore. I fought with an awful headache for most of the production, too. BUT, we had front-row seats to a FANTASTIC production of Hamlet that blended the old with the new. In the first act, Hamlet's wearing a very traditional costume. By the next act, Hamlet has a leather skull jacket and facial piercings. It all emphasized the timelessness of the play, and the set was spooky and sparse and absolutely perfect.

The actors playing Hamlet and Ophelia really stole the show; Hamlet was crazy, angsty, passionate, frightening at times. Ophelia was the perfect round-faced innocent-turned-madwoman by her father's death. The Players were a ragtag, crazy mixture of modern goth and vintage harlequin...just amazing costuming.

This was the first play I've attended since middle school, and I had a WONDERFUL time. Can't wait to do it again.

:hi:

[Jamastiene]

1. I've had a headache all day today too.

It just won't let up. I've taken enough pain meds (OTC) to knock a moose out, but I'm still going and so is the headache.

The play sounds like it was great. :)

[Lyric]

2. I had forgotten to take any ibuprofen with me, so I drank

half a can of Coke after the show (caffeine seems to help my headaches) and then took 4 ibuprofen when we got home. We didn't have to wait for a taxi this time; our professor lives close by, and he drove us home. That was a relief!

LyricKid is at Grandma's for the weekend, so we're going to be doing some hardcore studying for the midterm we have on Monday.

:hi:

[Aristus]

3. The only role in the play more difficult than Hamlet is Ophelia.

There are so many interpretations. The abused innocent, the tawdry, cynical whore, some combination of the two. I thought Helena Bonham Carter did an incredible job in the Mel Gibson "Hamlet". Kate Winslet was pretty good in Kenneth Branagh's version. Her overpowering shame over her lost virginity was a little rattling to watch.

I envy you; it sounded like a great production.

[Lyric]

4. Oh, it was.

I wish you lived closer, because this was opening night, and I'd *love* to go again with people who are interested in seeing in. I thought a college production would be Meh, but it was unbelievable. Nobody missed a line or a cue, nobody tripped, everybody was perfectly in-character, the lighting, the stage, the costuming...all of it was marvelous. These kids are gonna be famous someday.

:hi:

[Aristus]

5. I'd love to go with you. Seeing Shakespeare in performance is like nothing else in the world.

When I was in high school, I was like every other kid who didn't 'get' Shakespeare. Then I saw "The Merry Wives Of Windsor" at the Seattle Rep. It was absolutely incredible. It's one of Shakespeare's funniest comedies, and I found myself understanding and enjoying the play. I was hooked. I've had the good fortune to perform a couple of Shakespeare's, as well. But there's nothing like sitting in the audience watching a first-rate production. If you are familiar with Shakespeare, then a lot of it is the anticipation of seeing how they interpret a certain play, or just waiting for the good gags. The first time Malvolio shows up in his yellow garters in "Twelfth Night". Benedick's first entrance in "Much Ado." If they portray him without a beard, then you know they've cut one of the fun gags from the middle of the play. Watching an updated production of a particular play, and trying to see how the modern setting illuminates the characters in a new way.

I never get tired of Shakespeare... :-)

[elshiva]

6. Lucky you. I really want to see a live performance of Hamlet.

However, I've been sick as a dog.
As soon as I feel better, I have to see Hamlet or some kind of Shakespeare live. Life is just too short.
:hi: