2007 – “I Hate Hamlet” by Paul Rudnick

Posted on: June 15, 2007

Andrew Rally is a moderately successful television actor on the West Coast. When his TV series is cancelled, he decides to head for New York to improve his acting by attending theatre workshops. His agent, Lilian Troy, talks him into auditioning for the lead role in the annual Shakespeare production in Central Park. Against all odds he lands the role and is asked to play Hamlet. Andrew however has had no stage experience up to now. And that is the least of his problems.
His 29-year-old girlfriend Deirdre is still hanging on to her virginity and won’t sleep with him. His estate agent, Felicia Dantine, has found him an apartment which is absolutely ghastly even though it used to belong to John Barrymore, the famous actor. Worse yet, after a hastily convened séance hosted by Felicity, a self-proclaimed medium, Barrymore appears to Andrew as a ghost and decides to teach him how to play Hamlet.
Torn between sexual frustration, his fear of making a fool of himself on stage, and the pressure from Gary Lefkowitz, his TV writer/producer/director, to return to the West Coast and star in a new series, Andrew has to be physically forced to stick with Hamlet.
Can Andrew pull it off? Can he drive the audience wild with his Hamlet? Will he finally be able to make love to his girlfriend, get used to his horrible apartment, and, what is perhaps most important, also get rid of Barrymore, who seems to have developed a particular interest in Deirdre’s virginity?

Cast

Felicia DantineMona Lobendanz
Andrew RallyJess Heywood
Deirdre McDaveyVirginia Salas
Lilian TroyIlse Lackenbauer
John BarrymoreJohannes Stüger
Gary LefkowitzWolfgang Schneeberger

Crew

DirectorMichael Darmanin
ProducerIlse Lackenbauer
Director's AssistantAija-Mari Korhonen
Costumes & Make-UpHellmut Hölzl
Make-Up CrewNina Grabmaier
Meelika Juerisäar
Hester Marijnis
Julia Neudorfer
SetAlois Ellmauer
LightErich Posch
SoundMichael Darmanin
Graphic Design & PhotographyRuth Humer
Production PhotographyAlois Lobendanz
DVD RecordingChristian Haslecker

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.