Bernhardt/Hamlet
Roundabout Theatre Company
American Airlines Theatre
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| Photo courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Company |
In
Bernhardt/Hamlet playwright Theresa
Rebeck debates the power of women to transcend societal expectation. The play portrays the legendary actress Sarah
Bernhardt as she takes on the monumental role of Hamlet. She is the first woman to take on this
role. Since the men around her are
unable to picture it, they are therefore incapable of supporting her in her
quest. Ms. Rebeck weaves the poetic
texts of William Shakespeare and Edmond Rostand into her well-crafted play. Director Moritz von Stuelpnagel explores the
classically stylistic recitations of the period and allows them to evolve into
deep, meaningful moments of discovery for the characters and the audience.
The
year is 1897. In Paris the great Sarah
Bernhardt (played by Janet McTeer) is rehearsing the role of Hamlet. She is struggling with the character’s
inability to take action amid Shakespeare’s lengthy and poetic
soliloquies. When her lover, Edmond
Rostand (played by Jason Butler Harner), returns after working on his new play,
they discuss her taking on this colossal project. No one, including theatre critic Louis
(played by Paxton Whitehead) thinks it is a good idea. Alphonse Mucha (played by Matthew Saldivar),
the artist who paints all her theatre posters, struggles to find the proper
perspective for her portrait. Sarah is
determined to make Hamlet her own, which includes having Rostand rewrite it for
her.
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| Dylan Baker, Janet McTeer, & Jason Butler Harner Photo courtesy of Roundabout Theatre Cmpany |
Janet
McTeer captures a poetic panache and egotistical command that grounds her
embodiment of Sarah Bernhardt. As she
struggles to find the essence of Hamlet, Sarah waivers in indecision. This causes the same incapacity to take
action that Hamlet suffers from. Ms.
Rebeck skillfully draws this parallel between the true Sarah Bernhardt and
fictional Hamlet. Ms. McTeer plays this
quandary perfectly. As Sarah Bernhardt
speaks passionately about what she wants to achieve in the role of Hamlet, her
doubts rise to the surface making the rehearsal process slow and
laborious. Ms. McTeer has scenes where
she technically recites Shakespeare’s lines, then brilliantly sinks into a
rhythm that unearths the soul of Hamlet.
These scenes ring with truth and discovery.
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| Sarah Bernhardt as Hamlet |
A
woman taking on this classic role written for a man is seen as preposterous in
Sarah Bernhardt’s time. This judgement
is juxtaposed with the fact that Shakespeare’s women were traditionally played
by men. Not only that, but many of
Shakespeare’s female characters disguised themselves as men to achieve
objectives they were unable to even attempt as women. As all of this historic and literary fact is
debated in this play, the male characters reveal their honest thoughts of what
they expect when they contemplate a woman, especially one as strong as Sarah
Bernhardt. While projecting these
expectations, they define her power, consequently confining her with
limitation. Sarah Bernhardt’s journey of
surpassing these expectations is fascinating. In this play, as in Shakespeare’s works where
women disguise themselves as men, the characters who take the boldest and
bravest action to achieve their desired outcome are the women.
This
Roundabout Theatre Company production is as grand as the legend herself. Set design by Beowulf Boritt is lush and full
of significant detail that grabs the audience’s attention and draws them into
the time period. The performances from
the stellar cast of eleven are intelligent and truthful. Bernhardt/Hamlet
is playing at the American Airlines Theatre through November 11.
Domenick Danza
