By Marilyn Ferdinand
Some people see Shakespeare’s monumental tragedy Hamlet as the triumph of old age and treachery over youthful idealism, others as lurid court intrigue, and still others as an overlong play they were forced to read and never want to think about again. For the dedicated performers of The Commons Theatre, this classic drama from around 1601 seemed like another type of classic – a film noir. Twenty-five years ago, Commons members Mike Nowak, Kathleen Thompson, and Paul H. Thompson worked with now-legendary Chicago actor/director Mike Nussbaum (known more widely around the world as Gentle Rosenburg the Arquillian Jeweler in the hit film Men in Black) to produce Dashiell Hamlet: A Classic Mystery . Nussbaum directed and Nowak played Nat Hamill, the adaptation’s Hamlet.
Sadly, The Commons, a theatre company I loved and patronized frequently, is no more. But Chicago treasure City Lit Theatre, in keeping with its focus on literature on stage, decided to revive Dashiell Hamlet. They were fortunate to get Nussbaum back to direct and Nowak to appear, this time in a role more fitting to his current age – Ralph (Claudius), Nat’s uncle.
Posted on September 26, 2008