Theater review: Georgia Shakespeare’s streamlined ‘Hamlet’ personalizes the tale

Taking a nod from Fortinbras’ final command to bear the corpse of the dead prince “like a solider, to the stage,” director Richard Garner opens his production with an eloquent image: A white-suited Hamlet lies in repose, his stillness reflected by a tall mirror. In terms of storytelling, Garner’s careful restructuring and snipping away of the Fortinbras storyline is a smart, seamless way to open the well-trod tale.

We know how it will play out, so let’s get on with it: A disconsolate prince awakes to a heinous nightmare. His beloved father barely interred, his mother and uncle clasp hands at a coronation-wedding in which the bride wears red. We can feel how his smarmy mommy sickens Hamlet to the core. It’s too much too soon for such a noble heart as his. Revenge must follow and quickly does.

So here’s what I think about the final production of Georgia Shakespeare’s 28th season: Happily, the theater delivers an accessible reading of the Bard’s longest and finest play, a streamlined version that clocks in at a nicely paced 2 1/2 hours (versus four if you did it in toto).

While I’m very impressed with Garner’s economy of storytelling and the lovely minimalist look of the show, I am less in love with the performances of the leads. For alas poor Hamlet (Joe Knezevich) and Ophelia (Ann Marie Gideon) can’t seem to summon the depth of emotion and authenticity to make this a truly stellar “Hamlet.”

Being anointed the finest Atlanta actor of a generation has to be an impossibly heavy crown to bear and Knezevich wears it rather uneasily here. First, we get the sobbing Hamlet, then (after witnessing his father’s ghost) the manic one, then the cruel one, and so on. It’s not that these are bad or inappropriate choices; they are preordained by the script. But they come off as window dressing, lacking weight and substance.

The same goes for Ophelia.

An archetypal victim of grief and bullying, her descent into madness is one of the most pitiable moments in literature. But Gideon’s lackluster account fails to move. I more enjoyed watching Carolyn Cook’s regal take on Gertrude (done up to the nines here in gorgeous costumes by Sydney Roberts, a designer with a style that is purely her own) and Chris Kayser’s polished and assured Claudius.

While Allan Edwards’ loopy Polonius brings much needed levity to the horror, what’s the point of turning the grave-diggers into hillbilly stereotypes? Didn’t get that part.

Tony Larkin, Dan Ford, and Tiffany Denise Mitchenor, all new to the company and all playing several roles, are promising and welcome additions. Eric Mendenhall (as Horatio) is the most fluent Shakespearean in this production, the poetry as natural to his tongue as stars to the sky. Why can’t he just speak all the lines? (I jest, but you get my point.)

Back to the design scheme: Kat Conley’s sleekly beautiful set is a pleasure to look at; sitting meaningful props on the floor like trinkets is a nice touch. Whoever thought of it, good on you. But while the twin mirrors make powerful interior statements at key moments, they scoot about so much that they become distracting, like silent characters almost. Too much of muchness.

If I have picked this show apart, it’s by no means a pronouncement of failure but a gentle expression of disappointment. Georgia Shakespeare ends its year with a studiously conceived and fastidiously styled “Hamlet” that to me feels a little under-rehearsed and a shade dispassionate. It’s not unfair to say that it could be better. But that newly fashioned prologue that personalizes the story of Hamlet — why, that’s brilliant.

Theater review

“Hamlet”

Grade: B-

8 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays. 2 p.m. Sundays. Through Oct. 27. $15-$40. Georgia Shakespeare, Oglethorpe University, 4484 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-504-1473; gashakespeare.org

Bottom line: Uneven but lots of lovely touches and a welcome edit.