Show and Tell Post 3

For my 3rd show and tell post I've chosen the play, I Hate Hamlet.

I Hate Hamlet is a play written by Paul Rudnick in 1991 which was originally staged in the Walter Kerr Theater in New York with performances by:
Evan Handler as Andrew Rally and Nicol Williamson as John Barrymore

Synopsis:

Essentially the play is about a successful soap opera star named Andrew Rally who has just moved into the late great John Barrymore's apartment. Ironically Andrew has recently been presented with the opportunity to take the title role in Shakespeare's Hamlet. A fact that Andrew himself is completely turned off by. We are joined by several other characters including Andrew's girlfriend Deirdre McDavey whom Andrew expresses great sexual frustration towards essentially due to the fact that she won't give it up. Andrew's agent Lillian Troy shows up to express to him her feelings towards his career in she pushes him to go ahead with the Hamlet role. We also learn that she and Barrymore had a bit of a fling several years back, and she still holds him in high regard. We are later joined by Andrew's real estate agent Felicia Dantine. As they survey Andrew's new apartment we learn that Felicia is able to commune with the spirits and she intends to summon the spirit of John Barrymore in order to help Andrew with his hesitations to accept the Hamlet role. With the encouragement of Deirdre, Felicia begins a séance. She asks Andrew to ask Barrymore a question, it is then when Andrew shouts "I Hate Hamlet" and then there is a large dramatic gust of wind and a lighting flash in which Andrew briefly sees a shadow of a man cast upon the wall. It is later this evening in which the "ghost" of Barrymore makes his appearance to Andrew. The ghost explains that he makes himself seen to all young actors facing the daunting task of assuming the mantle of Hamlet.
 From this point on the rest of Act One is mostly Barrymore coaching Andrew in acting, sex-life, etc.... which in turn leads to a kind of farcical sword fight between the two of them.

Act Two comes around and Andrew is now deeply engrossed in the role of Hamlet. He has completely converted the apartment into a medieval lair and is always in costume brooding and sulking around. Despite all of this Andrew's performance on opening night comes off as somewhat, weak. Deirdre agrees that Andrew's performance was rather awful but despite this fact she views him as being incredibly brave for not giving up on the role. She decides she wants to be with him and essentially they sleep together. In the end, Andrew declines a new television offer and opts to pursue a life on the stage. Barrymore proceeds to kind of gloat in a way telling Andrew that he essentially achieved what he set out for to begin with. In that the glory of Shakespeare has finally changed him. Barrymore then proceeds to teach Andrew one last lesson in how to bow properly. Essentially the moment in which he passes the torch onto Andrew. Barrymore leaves. Andrew bows dramatically to the audience, and the curtain falls.

So in writing the synopsis I realized that this play could actually take a very dark turn. It really could be played as a serious drama, I hadn't even thought of that before. Anyway, just so we're clear this is definitely not a serious play, it's actually a very well written comedy that should be read by any individual who is actively seeking or is currently employed as a performer. It really taps into the level of narcissism, inflated ego, and self doubting nature of actors and they way they're perceived in society and kind of turns that on its head. The play does this in a very light-hearted manner really, but I think it's an interesting take on actors and the legacy they leave behind, regardless of whether it's the kind of legacy they wish it to be or not. To me this plays into Rudnick's choice to include a representation of a real-life actor (Barrymore) within the realm of fictional characters. Obviously there are several reasons to choose Barrymore and not create a fictional character given the connection to Barrymore and Hamlet. I just think that Rudnick's choice in Barrymore has other implications as well. I think this particular choice may allude to the fact that eventually either Andrew will become a great actor and live out a great long life. Which in turn would ultimately be John Barrymore's redemption in that he essentially squandered his money and wasted his talent towards the end of his life. Perhaps Rudnick chose to represent this story as just as much Barrymore's final performance as well. Maybe helping Andrew was Barrymore's chance at redemption after all and that could justify why he's even in the play to begin with. Although in contrast maybe the choice of including Barrymore is to allude to the idea of Andrew essentially going down the same path as Barrymore did. Maybe it's to show that Andrew would have been better off without Barrymore's intervention. All of this lends itself to the question of why Rudnick chose to blend real life with fiction by putting the character of a deceased John Barrymore into his play. Which ultimately winds up creating a type of ambiguous nature of the play. Granted this story is kind of silly and lighthearted, but it's never fully explained why Barrymore has become a "ghost" and why he's appearing to Andrew. Also, apparently Barrymore can make himself known to other people as well. There is a moment in which he actually interacts with other characters, the best example of this is when he basically seduces Lillian and despite the fact that he doesn't technically exist the fact that Barrymore is able to interact with her and she him is never fully explained, except the fact that she might have once had a fling with him. There is even a scene in which Barrymore and Deirdre have some close interaction. The initial impression is that Barrymore is only able to make himself known to the actors who are set to portray Hamlet. Again, what is it exactly that Barrymore wishes to accomplish? He feels the need to help Andrew but I got the sense that he was doing so almost as a kind of penance and not just by his good graces. It's almost as if all of the temptations from Barrymore's past are still haunting him and he's still struggling to let them go and focus on helping Andrew and pass the torch. I think Rudnick chose to write the character that way in order to make the audience kind of question his motives, but again we don't ever get a clear explanation as to the why. I felt that this was an element of ambiguous nature that lends itself to making the play and its characters resonate a little more with audiences.