The more I see of all these dark and foreboding Batman movies (the latest of which, "The Dark Knight Rises," opened last week), the more I miss the bright and silly '60s TV series.
It's little wonder that the movies take themselves far too seriously to have much sense of humor: To hear some of the filmmakers talk so grandiosely, you'd think the original Batman comics were akin to Shakespeare in terms of their complex dramatic structure and psychological character development.
Lighten up already. Or, as Batman's trusty sidekick Robin might have said back on TV, "Holy highfalutin hooey!"
At the very least, first-time Decatur playwright Jordan Pulliam has the right idea with his funny, self-explanatory premise for "Bat-Hamlet." The show is a two-fold sendup. Pulliam basically sticks to the classic Shakespearean plot, but he draws on famous comic book characters to tell it.
Whether you're a fan of one source or the other, there are a number of good in-jokes on either score.
Artistic director Peter Hardy's Essential Theatre production of "Bat-Hamlet" — one of three Georgia-written premieres in the company's annual summer repertory ("Evelyn in Purgatory" and "The Local" are the others) — gets off to a promising start that's increasingly difficult to sustain the longer the play drags on. Running well over two hours, it could easily stand to lose 30 minutes or more.
It's set in the Kingdom of Gothic, where the brooding prince Hamlet (Topher Payne) is bent on avenging the murder of his father. With a "flair for theatrics," he dons the disguise of a caped crusader in a bat mask, fighting crime and cartoonish villains such as the Jester (Stuart McDaniel in the Claudius role) and the Puffin (Aaron Gotlieb as the new Polonius).
"The road to justice is paved with sacrifices," our would-be superhero aptly intones at one point, "not the least of which is dignity." Payne doesn't exactly imitate TV's Adam West, but he does lower his voice an octave or so to speak a lot of his lines in an affected monotone. As the absurdity of the situation heightens around him, his deadpan delivery is unwavering.
The highlight in Hardy's cast is Lake Roberts, playing the hapless Horatio/reluctant Robin of the piece. Here renamed Songbird Boy and colorfully costumed (by Jane B. Kroessig) in leotards, a cape, a muscle shirt and form-fitting short-shorts, in one of several clever asides to the audience, he quips, "I look like a one-man Gay Pride parade."
Despite a few fanciful flourishes here and there, a little of "Bat-Hamlet" goes a long way. Straining not to neglect any conceivable variation on Catwoman, the Riddler, Batgirl or even the Green Lantern, Pulliam overdoes it. You can't help appreciating the show's enthusiastic spirit, but he might have taken at least one cue from the Batman movies and left some of the story for an inevitable sequel.
THEATER REVIEW
"Bat-Hamlet"
Grade: B-
Through Aug. 4. 8 p.m. Friday (July 27), Monday (July 30) and Aug. 4; 7 p.m. Sunday (July 29). $18-$23. Actor's Express (at King Plow Arts Center), 887 W. Marietta St., Atlanta. 1-866-811-4111, essentialtheatre.com.
Bottom line: Too much for its own good.
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