The 6th Act Presents “Hamlet”

The 6th Act presents “Hamlet” written by William Shakespear and directed by Matthew Leavitt.

Running March 21 through March 31, Fridays 7 Saturdays at 8pm, Sunday at 3pm

The New American Theatre, 1312 North Wilton Place, Los Angeles, CA 90028

It’s tough to put a new spin on any Shakespeare play. 

By now, unless you open a theatre on the moon and the cast is made up entirely of moon-mans, it’s all been done before. At least, I thought it had…

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Desiree Mee Jung and Luke McClure star in THE 6TH ACT production of William Shakespeare’s “HAMLET”

The 6th Act have indeed found something new and it’s not just a gimmick, it’s a revelation.  Hamlet is played by an entirely different actor in every act.  With four women and two men in the cast, they all jump genders, each of them playing other roles, and morph into Hamlet as easily as putting on a different hat. 

Of course it takes some nerve and some exceptional skills to pull this off and this brilliant company of actors have those in bucket loads.  I saw their version of “Betrayal” last year and was astonished at their utterly sublime production.

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Jonathan Medina, Luke McClure and June Carryl star in THE 6TH ACT production of William Shakespeare’s “HAMLET”

“Hamlet” is a play that most actors would point to as being the pinnacle of perfection – full of roles to revel in and the most magnificent monologues to trip off the tongue.  But so many actors have forged the role of Hamlet in their own image that it becomes a very interesting choice to experiment with like this.  Perhaps our minds have been so warped by Branagh, Gibson, Olivier, Redgrave, Whishaw, Tennant, Law and Kinnear, Rylance, Peake, Scott and Cumberbatch that we need to separate the role from the man…or woman.  Whatever it is, Hamlet is such a unique part in that it truly and completely becomes the actor.  Hamlet is elusive and ephemeral, a character whose deepest thoughts and fears are spoken only to us, the audience,and to the rest of the characters in the play he is only a lover, son, friend and madman. To us the audience he is bereft and angry and sadly understood.  How ingenious to give him to us in five such different people, in five such different souls.

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Luke McClure and Jonathan Medina star in THE 6TH ACT production of William Shakespeare’s “HAMLET”

Matthew Leavitt directs and to him I will be eternally grateful for this beautiful piece of theatre. 

Somehow I saw Hamlet so much more clearly than I had before.  Through five lenses, through five sets of eyes and five beating hearts.

The players are absolutely wonderful and all their roles truthfully, fiercely and impeccably played, with humor, tenderness, soulfulness and brevity.  If Romeo and Juliet is Shakespeare’s love, then Hamlet is his loss and isn’t life so completely composed of those two things?

I highly recommend The 6th Act’s “Hamlet.” This gorgeous production, so simply staged and yet so rich and full, gives the actors the space and the time they need to be all they can in every role.  This play breathes, it feels, it moves through the story with grace and intelligence and total acceptance of the world created by Shakespeare. Good lord, where would we be without him…Bravo!!!

Miss this at your peril…

https://www.the6thact.com

Cast

Janet Greaves, Jonathan Medina, Luke McClure, June Carryl, Desiree Mee Jung, Cindy Nguyen

Production Team

Director – Matthew Leavitt

Producers – Liza Seneca and Matthew Leavitt

Scenic Design – Gary Lee Reed

Costume Design – Ashphord Jacoway

Sound Design – Nick Neidorf

Fight Director – Jesse James Thomas

Graphic Design – Mila Sterling, Sterling Visuals

Stage Manager – Josie Austin

Publicity – David Elzer

Assistant Director/Dramaturg – Cam Deaver

Assistant Stage Manager – Megan Donahue

1 COMMENT

  1. Absolutely right– this is a Brilliant production and we meet All the characters again (and again).
    Fresh, contemporary and brilliant performances. Congratulations…and Bravo.

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