Hamlet Takes the Stage

GAMBIER, Ohio (January 26, 2012)

After more than forty years, Hamlet by William Shakespeare returns to the Kenyon stage on February 2.

Ben Viccellio '98, assistant professor of drama, directs the play with student and faculty actors in contemporary dress. Viccellio is a playwright and actor, and his roles include Guildenstern in Hamlet at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre.

"Everybody wants to play Hamlet," he said. "Hamlet is done often, but not as often as most actors would like. I want to make sure the students encounter the plays that they really should know before they leave college, and Hamlet is one of those that they need to know intimately.

"It truly is a timeless play. With Hamlet, we have maybe the first character in dramatic literature that is really looking inward."

Hamlet, played by Kenyon senior Jack Dwyer of Wheaton, Illinois, is a prince of Denmark. The play examines Hamlet's tragic pursuit of vengeance against his uncle, who has murdered Hamlet's father and married Hamlet's mother. "It's a play that asks great questions about the human spirit," Dwyer said.

In mastering the part, Dwyer has developed dexterity with the language. "You have to root the words in yourself," Dwyer said. "You learn to bring out what is inside of you and activate it, and you know what the language is saying and you're able to tell the story."

Acting, he said, "is just something that I enjoy. I do think it's important to try and see life through the perspective of art."

In directing the longest of Shakespeare's plays, Viccellio has trimmed it to arrive at less than three hours. "I'm a big believer in speed on stage," he said. "It's a beast of a play, very big. The set is beautiful and the costumes are looking great. But there's not a lot of street dressing, not a lot of furniture on stage. I like just the actors on stage with no place to escape."

Hamlet will be performed on February 2, 3 and 4 at 8:00 p.m. at the Bolton Theater. General admission tickets cost $5; groups of 10 or more, $2.50 per person; people over 65, non-Kenyon students, and children under 12, $2; Kenyon students, $1. The box office (740-427-5546) is open daily from 1:00-5:00 p.m. during the week of the show and for one hour before each performance. To learn more about the production, call 740-427-5531.

Cast List

Laura Barati '12, Cornelia/Player Queen

Edward Baxter '15, Barnardo/Sailor/Lucianus/Attendant One

Robert E. Bennett, professor emeritus of classics, Polonius

Caroline Black '12, Marcella/Messenger

Elliot Cromer '15, Osric

Bennett Davidson '12, Dancer/Player Two/Fortinbras' Soldier Two/Attendant Five

Devon Donohue '14, Musician

Jack Dwyer '12, Hamlet

Patience Fairbrother '14, 2nd Player/Horatio's Attendant

Kenneth Fedorko '13, 1st Player/Priest/Attendant Three/Fortinbras' Soldier Four

Jeremy Fuller '14, Musician

Doug Healy '13, Laertes

David Hoyt '14, Musician

Atticus Koontz '14, Dancer/Player Three/Fortinbras' Soldier Five

Caroline Lindy '12, 2nd Gravedigger/Player/Dancer Four

Aaron Lynn '14, Dancer/Player One/Fortinbras' Soldier One/Attendant Four

Sarah MacDonald '12, Queen Gertrude

Hector Marrero '15, Fortinbras

Issa Polstein '15, Horatio

Miles Purtinton '12, Francisco/Player King/Captain/Attendant Two

William Quam '14, Guildenstern/Fortinbras' Soldier Three

Daniel Rasch '14, King Claudius

Kevin Rich, assistant professor of drama, Gravedigger

Rachel Sachnoff '12, Ophelia

Ellie Shepley '12, Rosencrantz

Matt Super '15, Voltemand/English Ambassador

Jonathan Tazewell '84, Thomas S. Turgeon Professor of Drama, Ghost