Friday, May 24, 2013

Hamlet Cha-Cha-Cha
CNY Playhouse
Jenn DeCook, director

Price: $25
CNY Playhouse
Shoppingtown Mall, Entrance No. 4 (adjacent to parking garage), Dewitt

Totally insane. And totally hilarious. You all know the story of Hamlet--but never has a plot line been followed by such gleefully drunken footsteps, singing all the way! Can you envision Horatio as "an amiable sponge" always seeking the nearest buffet table? Can you see Gertrude and Claudius, married on their way home from King Hamlet's funeral, leading the opening number of the show, "Boo Hoo! I Do!"? Or picture the soliloquy done by Prince Hamlet with a back-up male chorus chanting "Doo waaah!" at inappropriate intervals? And how about Queen Gertrude, backed up by the female chorus--the "Elsinoritas," of course--telling Laertes about Ophelia's dreadful death in a hand clapper called "Down, Down, Down the River!"? And will you recognize Hamlet's two college chums, herein known as "Rosie Krantz" and "Gilda Stern"? And if you think you know the way the story turns out--you don't. Not in this version, anyhow. Believe us, if you've always hated Shakespearean plays, you'll love this show--but paradoxically, you've always loved Shakespearean plays, you'll love this show despite yourself. Book, music, and lyrics by Monk Ferris. Abel Searor, music director; Kaleigh Pfohl, choreographer.

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