The Hartt Theatre Division is presenting Shakespeare with a twist: I Hate Hamlet, a dramatic comedy by Paul Rudnick. The plot follows Andrew Rally, an accomplished actor whose TV career is at a standstill, who is offered a position on stage as Hamlet. The only problem? Andrew hates Hamlet. He is haunted by the ghost of John Barrymore, an actor famous for the role. Barrymore teaches Andrew how to act Shakespeare and a thing or two about appreciating the classic acting styles. The performance is directed by the esteemed faculty member, Robert Davis.

Davis has worked with regional theaters across the country including Shakespeare & Company, the Yale Repertory Theatre, Goodspeed Musicals, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, the Shakespeare Festival at Tulane, the Monomoy Theatre on Cape Cod, and Swine Palace Productions in Louisiana. He received a Connecticut Critics Circle Award for his performance in The Exonerated at TheaterWorks of Hartford and has appeared regularly at Hartford Stage in productions of Romeo and Juliet, Kiss Me Kate, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, A Christmas Carol, Our Town (sharing the role of the Stage Manager with Hal Holbrook), several roles in the Brand: New play festival and many staged readings including Stuff Happens and Horton Foote’s Shape of River with Kate Mulgrew. Once upon a time, he appeared on television’s Sesame Street as the Rhythm Chef.

I Hate Hamlet will be performed in the McCray Theater at 7:30p.m on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (November 3rd – 5th), and at 3p.m on Sunday, November 6th. Audience members are advised to arrive 10 minutes prior to curtain time due to the intimacy of the performance space. Access may be denied after the start of the show and masks must be worn in University venues.

The performance is free but tickets are required: https://app.artspeople.com/index.php?show=144089.