TWO HAMLETS, OUT OF JOINT

posted by James Reel

    One review and a two-in-one preview from me in the current Tucson Weekly:

    Here's the secret to an effective portrayal of Hamlet: Put a potato in your codpiece.
    Or so claims John Barrymore. Of course, he's been dead for decades, and his notions are rather old-fashioned. Then again, Barrymore has recently materialized to coach the sort of contemporary actor who is probably beyond remediation: a television star. A well-placed potato may be the only possible improvement to this thespian's equipment.
    Such is the acting class that is Paul Rudnick's I Hate Hamlet, which is enjoying a lovable production at Live Theatre Workshop.

    Had your fill of wholesome entertainment over the holidays? Well, a new year has arrived, and theater producer Kevin Johnson hopes you've got enough of an appetite left to sample his own special kind of fruitcake.
    Here's what Johnson is serving up this week, from the test kitchens of his Arizona Onstage Productions:
    First, there's Talk of the Town, a Paul Bonin-Rodriguez comedy about a self-described "sissy boy" coming to terms with his sexuality in a small Texas town.
    Then, there's a special two-performance fundraiser featuring live music and a screening of a heady 2005 musical film called Reefer Madness, inspired by the famously campy 1936 anti-marijuana movie of the same name. This event is designed to pay off bills from earlier Arizona Onstage shows and help fund the rest of this season.