“I Hate Hamlet,” a comedy by Paul Rudnick, opens the Southern Arkansas University play season this week.
This play is presented in ¾-round on the Harton stage, so seating is limited for this production. But tickets are still available at www.showtix4u.com or by calling (870) 235-4256.
The box office opens at SAU’s Harton Theatre nightly at 6 p.m. tonight through Saturday. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and curtain time is 7 p.m. General admission is $6; children and students and SAU employee price is $3.
In this play, Andrew Rally seems to have it all: celebrity and acclaim from his starring role in a hit television series; a rich, beautiful girlfriend; a glamorous, devoted agent; the perfect New York apartment; and the chance to play Hamlet in Central Park.
There are, however, a couple of glitches in paradise. Andrew’s series has been canceled; his girlfriend is clinging to her virginity with unyielding conviction; and he has no desire to play Hamlet. When Andrew’s agent visits him, she reminisces about her brief romance with John Barrymore many years ago, in Andrew’s apartment. This prompts a séance to summon his ghost.
From the moment Barrymore returns, dressed in high Shakespearean garb, Andrew’s life is no longer his own. Barrymore, fortified by champagne and ego, presses Andrew to accept the part and fulfill his actor’s destiny.
The action becomes more hilarious with the entrance of Andrew’s deal-making friend from LA, spouting the laid-back hype of the Coast and offering Andrew a fabulous new TV deal worth millions of dollars. The laughs are nonstop as Andrew wrestles with his conscience, Barrymore, his sword, and the fact that he fails as Hamlet in Central Park.
With engaging acting classes, academic travels such as the annual “New York Performance Project” trip, and acting experiences the Department has not only gained attention in the region, but has prepared young actors to chase their dreams. Amanda Cannon, 2012 Outstanding Student from the College of Liberal and Performing Arts, attended the New York trip in 2011 and returned to the Big Apple after graduation to be a full-time actor.
For more information about the SAU Department of Theatre and Mass Communication, web.saumag.edu/lpa/depts/performing-arts-mass-communication.