It takes temerity to write a sequel to Hamlet, and the risks are tripled if you cast it as a fantastic satirical farce, but writer Lee Blessing pulls it off hilariously. He begins at the end of Hamlet: The stage is littered with corpses, as Hamlet (Brian Turley) breathes his last in the arms of Horatio (Blair Hickey). Fortinbras (Greg Baglia) appears, looks at the carnage, and says, in essence, "Geez, what happened?"
Blessing's Fortinbras suggests a prescient caricature of George W. Bush, for he, like Bush, can't cope with complexities. When Horatio attempts to explain the tragic events, Fortinbras dismisses his story as too complicated: He can't understand it, and nobody will believe it. Instead, he fabricates a tale about a fiendish Polish spy who eradicated the royal family. "What about the truth?" Horatio inquires, but Fortinbras' "official truth" is all that matters. Having blamed the Poles, Fortinbras must send out his army to retaliate. The war gets out of hand, as wars will, and soon the army is marching into Carpathia, Transylvania, and Persia. Since there is no Polish spy, Fortinbras declares Osric (A.K. Raymond) guilty and claps him in prison.
As complications confound him, Fortinbras grows more Hamlet-ish, complaining, "Something about this castle makes me talk to myself." He finds himself haunted by the ghosts of Polonius (Stuart McLean) and the whole royal family, including a sexpot Ophelia (Dagney Kerr). Hamlet is mysteriously trapped in a TV set, warning everybody not to touch that dial. Fortinbras' scatterbrained attempts to govern drive even Horatio to murder, and by the end nobody's left alive except Marcellus (Michael Miranda) and Bernardo (Damon Standifer).
Director Maria Cominis directs her huge cast with a stylish, feather-light touch, and the actors match her efforts splendidly. Baglia's Fortinbras is a likable dunderhead, Kerr's Ophelia is a smart-ass succubus, and Raymond's Osric is a long-suffering doormat. If the play's logic occasionally breaks down, things zip along so merrily we hardly notice. Tina Zarro's lavish costumes and Baglia's handsome set provide the icing on the cake.
Presented by Theatre Neo at the Secret Rose Theatre,
11246 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood.
Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. Mar. 28-May 3.
(323) 769-5858. www.theatreneo.com.