From the plumed quill of Patrick Schmitz and the barbed wit of the Shakesparody Players comes another comedic take on one of theatre’s great tragedies.
The Comedy of Hamlet…kinda sorta – Aug. 20-22
Just as they made us laugh at Romeo & Juliet last summer, Patrick and his cast are creating humor from the Fresh Prince of Denmark. The play follows Shakespeare’s tale and gives it a comedic tweak with Patrick’s accomplished wordplay performed by some of Milwaukee’s funniest actors.
“Hamlet, R&J and half of Macbeth were written in one summer in that order. I went with R&J first because it seemed more marketable – everyone knows that story in a nutshell,” Patrick says. “After staging R&J and seeing its success, it definitely lit a fire under me to definitely put Hamlet up. My motto with side projects is ‘I will build it and IF they come I will keep building.’ I knew I wanted to continue working with both a young and adult cast and Next Act is such a welcoming environment. It only made sense to return.”
The cast includes:
- Vince Figueroa as Hamlet
- Grant Boyer as Bernardo & Osric
- Lee Rowley as Francisco
- Alec Sill as Reynaldo & Grave Digger
- Jacob Woelfel as Marcellus & other
- Joey Flegel-Mishlove as Horatio
- Rich Laguna as Claudius
- Kristoffer Puddicombe as Old Hamlet
- Beth Lewinski as Gertrude
- Lindsey Walcott as Ophelia
- James Boland as Polonius
- Erik Koconis as Laertes
- Robby McGhee as Rosencrantz
- Mara McGhee as Guildenstern
- Cheryl Roloff as Head Player
- Emilie Lozier as Player
- Elyssia Smith as Player
You’ll notice experienced improv comedians in that list, including some of Patrick’s former students at ComedySportz, First Stage and Brown Deer High School. Such talent helps punch up the script, Patrick says.
“The improv from the cast is very open mostly because they all have enough sense to know what’s too much and they also have enough trust in the writing to not need to keep adding,” Patrick says. “I’m not married to every line I write and they’re not married to every joke the improvise, so we work together to make the strongest comedic ideas stick, as long they work and fit.”
As Patrick tells Amanda Sullivan in the Shepherd Express, his parodies have helped him better appreciate Shakespeare and how to make The Bard more accessible through modern language and humor. He tells us that familiarity with “Hamlet” might give you a slight advantage over other audience members at some moments in “The Comedy of Hamlet..kinda sorta” but adds, “even if you know nothing about the original play, you’ll still enjoy it.”
The Comedy of Hamlet…kinda sorta is meant for audiences 13 and older. It’s scheduled for four shows at Milwaukee’s Next Act Theatre, 255 S. Water St.
Show times are 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Aug. 20-22, and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22.
General admission tickets are $15 and available in advance by clicking here.