I Hate Hamlet. Summary and Reviews

I Hate Hamlet.
by Paul Rudnick

I Hate Hamlet.
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Book Summary Information

Author: Paul Rudnick
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1998-01
ISBN: 0822205467
Publisher: Dramatists Play Service Inc

Book Reviews of I Hate Hamlet.

Book Review: Amusing and Flyweight Farce
Summary: 4 Stars

Although he best known on the professional stage for JEFFREY, a wry and slightly bitter comedy on the subject of homosexuality and HIV, Paul Rudnick is best known on the non-professional stage for I HATE HAMLET, an amusing farce that tears a page from Noel Coward's legendary BLITHE SPIRIT.

A television actor whose series has just been canceled, Andrew Rally is in New York to perform the title role of Hamlet--a role he doesn't want in a play he doesn't like. A flaky real estate agent who claims to have psychic powers talks him into renting the former apartment of long-dead John Barrymore, one of the most acclaimed Hamlets of his generation; needless to say, an impromptu seance seems to vent forth the ghost of Barrymore himself, who comes to make sure that Andrew does the role, like it or not.

There is, of course, a little bit more to it than that, and the plot also concerns Andrew's eccentric (and chain smoking) agent; his determinedly virginal girl friend; and an ultra-California producer type who wants to see Andrew take the easy television and run instead of striving for 'art' in New York. Add in swordplay, Barrymore's infamous lechery, and a host of complications and the result is a charming bit of flyweight fluff that moves a long at rapid clip.

Like many plays of the genre, I HATE HAMLET tends to deal in obvious stereotypes and time-honored constructions; it is no less amusing for that, and if you know something about Shakespeare, HAMLET, and Barrymore you'll find it all the more entertaining. Recommended.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

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