Cold winds and rain did not deter students from attending the much anticipated Shakespeare’s Globe “Hamlet on the Green” event on Miller Lawn last Friday. Audience members proudly touted umbrellas and ponchos provided by Dean Lisa and sat with rapt attention through the roughly three-hour performance.
“It was beautiful and wonderfully done,” said senior English and communication major Amanda Morey. “The actors were terrific.”
The gloomy atmosphere may have enhanced Friday’s performance. One of the most memorable moments was Ophelia, dynamically portrayed by Carlyss Peer, singing to the somber tune of Laura Forrest-Hay’s original score and a slow gust of rain swept wind echoing out across the lawn.
“Well, it is a sort of magical play,” said Michael Benz who plays Hamlet in the production. “Things like that have a tendency to happen from time to time—the most beautiful moments.”
The production had tenacious energy that gave the performance an electric potency. Directors Dominic Dromgoole and Bill Buckhurst stripped away all but necessity and kept their finger on the beating pulse of the play’s action. The cast powered through their lines with relentless vigor, and the acting choices demonstrated a deep understanding of not only the tragic elements in comedy, but in the comedic elements in tragedy. More than once, Hamlet’s most pessimistic of declarations was punctuated by Benz with an ecstatic smile or boyish snigger.
Friday’s show was the first of three performances over the weekend. The final Sun. performance was open to the public and was well received by a large crowd of students, faculty, staff, and locals from town.
“The whole audience was engaged, including the children,” said freshman communication arts and journalism major Erin Gorman. “A lot was utilized with a little set and a small cast.”
This marks the Globe’s first ever visit to the Pleasantville campus.
“This campus is beautiful and I am just thrilled to be able to bring it here,” said Benz. “The Globe has come to the Michael Schimmel Center in New York City before, but…this show has been created in a way that it can be indoors, and it can also be outdoors, and of the U.S. tour the only place where you can experience the true outdoor experience of Shakespeare’s Globe from London is at Pace—cause we are not doing it anywhere else. All the other stops that we are going to, we are doing it inside, so in a way, this is the best.”