Bernhardt/Hamlet Review

I was lucky enough to see the invited dress rehearsal last night of Bernhardt/Hamlet, so I thought I would review it for you. The show is about Sarah Bernhardt making the choice to play Hamlet. Within that basic premise are love affairs, critical doubts, and family matters. The play, while Bernhardt knows it is a gamble, is supposed to be a money maker for her, as she is near bankruptcy. Janet McTeer is a force of nature, a person hard to describe. She so enraptures the audience that they never think about anything else. While it’s easy to think in the first scene that McTeer has genuinely gone up on her lines, that is, in fact, part of the script. Out pops actor Dylan Baker, another brilliant performer who’s talents we get to see in full late in the show. We meet the company of Hamlet. They consist of a typical ingenue, Ophelia, two “Brush Up Your Shakespeare” style character actors, and another man whose purpose is never quite clear. Next we meet Edmund Rostand and see his love for Bernhardt. He is married, but that does not stop them from having much sexual contact. Next we see Rostand with the amazing Paxton Whitehead, playing a theater critic. They discuss their doubts and you can see that Rostand gets immediately tense about any criticism of Bernhardt. Throughout the play, you will hear several lines suggesting that their relationship is not merely that of an actor/playwright, but although we know those rumors are true, both parties always deny it. Whitehead believes the decision is vulgar, which makes Rostand, too, nervous. Subsequent scenes show the actual Hamlet, and Bernhardt’s frustration in not quite being able to grasp the role. She knows she is breaking the rules, and goes even further with a female-female sex scene and cutting lines. As a parallel, we see Rostand’s frustration, not being able to get her out of his mind or heart. At the same time, artist Alphonse Mucha has been commissioned to make a poster for the show, but he too, is having trouble designing it, saying he can’t quite capture the look in her eyes. His drafts receive increasingly horrified “Oh, My God!”’s from both Rostand and Bernhardt. At the act’s end, Bernhardt somewhat seduces Rostand into attempting to rewrite Hamlet for her. There is a scene from Hamlet which, as all these scenes, is not well transitioned into, and while it is a pleasure to watch McTeer play Hamlet, Rebeck (playwright) should make up her mind which half of the title she wants to emphasize. Rostand and Mucha meet and express how hard it is to work on their respective assignments, and both threaten to abandon the project. Though after Rostand expresses that idea, Mucha inquires “Then why did you say yes?” Rostand then counters,“Have you ever tried to say no to Sarah Bernhardt?” There is a dinner party, in which Bernhardt is forced to confront her doubt(er)s. However, she quickly eliminates them all. Also, getting an opportunity to see Baker playing drunk is one of the funniest moments in the entire show. He spews sarcastic and nonsensical comments, all of which are irreverent and very funny. Then her son enters, ruining the party by insinuating an extramarital affair with Rostand.Then, once the guests leave, they have a heart-to-heart chat. Neither, it seems, is too good at handling money, as both are near broke. The son forbids her to love a young, married man. But she cannot help but succumb to nature. As the scene ends, he pleads “Mother, just think, for once.” Then, Rosamund enters, played by a convincing and powerful actress, Ito Aghayere. Rosamund is Rostand’s actual wife, who is not coming, surprisingly, to accuse her of having an affair, but to force her to make him stop rewriting Hamlet, and continue work on his play, saying “it’s about you”. She then insist that Bernhardt read it. She does, she loves it, and then she has Rostand come, while she and Baker read from the script. This humble play, his “pet project” is Cyrano De Bergerac, one of the most highly regarded plays of all time. She then goes on a frustrated tirade about how the character of Roxanne is too one-dimensional for “the divine Sarah”. She and Rostand get into a fight, which was probably for the worse in her career. We don’t know if they’ll ever reconcile. However, we get to see a scene from that play, and it, especially Baker, is very enjoyable. Then we see Bernhardt and her son, staging a fake sword fight. Then, as one of the most anticlimactic endings I’ve ever seen, a movie of her actually playing Hamlet shows. But, if one didn’t already know, it would not be clear that it was her, plus it leaves the audience completely unsatisfied. The way this play is written makes you feel as if you are Bernhardt, going through the trials and tribulations of putting on a show, Yet never able to be satisfied. The other actors simply create a background for McTeer, who is on a whole other level. Mark Twain’s quote about Bernhardt could be changed to fit her. The direction was so natural that it was hard to believe they weren’t just moving around of their own accord. The creative design on this show was excellent, and I personally think it should win the Tonys. Especially Beowulf Boritt (The man who was kind enough to invite me)’s set, which was lavish and really suited the period. The costumes were also luxurious, and you could see by those designs how she went bankrupt. I’m writing this before the first preview so you know whether you want to see it or not. But I hope you do, as it’s a chance to see a truly amazing new play, something that doesn’t happen a lot. 

Update!

Hi, Readers!
You may have noticed that I haven't blogged in a while, because I've been busy, but I just want to let you know that there will be another blog post by Memorial Day. In the Works are pieces about Mean Girls, Anastasia, On a Clear Day, Fiddler in Yiddish, and possibly Bernhardt/Hamlet. Here's a preview.
... Henningsen shines, and although she has been criticized for seeming fake, I think she seems very real. She gets to shine in her song "It Roars", and although she's not quite as good as she is on the cast album, some of the projections make this more effective than it would be otherwise. (e.g., a fake "plane" from Africa to America) The part where she feels awkward is represented convincingly as a dance metaphor. She shows the journey to power very well, and make you sympathize with Cady, even when she becomes "a clone" of Regina. "Stupid With Love", while not containing the best lyrics, is a fun song, if a bit bland. here you can see a bit what is meant by her "thin emotion", but really, what opportunities does that song really give? "More is Better", a totally forgettable song, almost the opposite of an "I want" song, more of an "I got" song...
Remember to check back on Labor Day!