Photo Courtesy of Luna Stage Valerie Terranova will play Hamlet in ‘Hamlet (Abridged)’
WEST ORANGE — Luna Stage will present “Shakespeare’s Hamlet (Abridged!)” in a new 90-minute adaptation by Rajesh Bose.
The play features 5 actors playing 16 roles, highlighting the humor and urgency of this taut, intimate, heartbreakingly political tragedy, according to a press release from Luna Stage, which said that tickets are available at www.lunastage.org/hamlet
In a gender-bending casting choice, Valerie Terranova, who made her Luna debut in a critically-acclaimed performance of Bernardo Cubria’s “The Giant Void In My Soul,” also directed by Bose, plays the title role.
“As strange as it sounds, I’ve always found Hamlet to be relatable in many ways,” said Terranova. “When you strip away the obvious differences — the fact that he’s a prince, for example — Hamlet is a person whose father has just died, whose country has fallen into the hands of a corrupt leader, and who is surrounded by people who seem ready to move on as if nothing is wrong.
“Hamlet is a story where private grief and political grief collide. The loss of King Hamlet is not only the loss of a father, but the loss of integrity, decency, and moral order. Claudius’s rise feels like the collapse of those values,” Terranova said. “Somewhere in Hamlet’s personal grief, I think he’s just as overcome with the question: how can something so corrupt take hold while everyone simply allows it to happen?”
Terranova said the tension in the play feels “uncomfortably familiar right now.”
“Many of us are carrying grief for a sense of moral center that feels like it’s slipping away,” she said. “Hamlet’s political grief is intensely personal — just as it is for so many of us today.”
The cast includes:
Drew Hirshfield, who was most recently seen in Luna’s “Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library.” Hirshfield plays Polonius, Rosencrantz, The Gravedigger, and Francisco.
Erica Knight, who has performed in “Sense and Sensibility,” “Charley’s Aunt,” and on TV’s “Gossip Girl.” She plays Ophelia, Laertes, and Guildenstern.
Lucas Pinner, who was in “Peter and the Starcatcher” and “Richard III.” He plays Claudius, The Ghost, Osric and The Clown.
Lisa VillaMil, who has appeared in “As You Like It” and “Henry IV” at The Old Globe, plays Gertrude and Horatio.
Performances are Thursdays at 7:30, Fridays and Saturdays at 8, and Sundays at 3 beginning Feb. 12 and running through March 8, with a special Older Adult Matinee on Thursday, Feb. 19th at 1 p.m. Group discounts and student matinees can be scheduled by emailing info@lunastage.org. A limited number of Opening Night + Party tickets are available for Feb. 14.
Ticket prices range from $10-$50. As part of Luna’s commitment to equity and access, all Luna Stage programs and productions are Pay-What-You-Choose.
Valerie Terranova will play Hamlet in ‘Hamlet (Abridged)’
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