We want to start a blog series sharing our broke geek adventures, and what better way to start off than with Harry Potter Hamlet?
It’s Shakespeare in the Park season, which is always a nice time of year for broke theater geeks to get their Shakespeare on without paying for a pricey theater ticket, AND to expose the bard to newcomers. The Actors’ Gang in Culver City decided to get a little creative with it...
This mash-up-tastic performance was surprisingly appropriate for all ages, considering the intense tragedy that is Hamlet. It’s an all-out comedy and even though it does get dark, they pull together a happy ending for the little ones-- probably knowing that anything Harry Potter attracts young children. It exposes kids to Shakespeare in an accessible way, but is also plenty entertaining for nerdy adults with no children in tow (like us).
So what exactly IS Harry Potter Hamlet? What does that even MEAN?
Well, you know how the Muppets star in lots of adaptations of literary works and play the different characters despite what is ‘canon’ in the Muppet-verse? It’s kinda like that, but with the Potter characters. Harry Potter is Hamlet. Dumbledore is Hamlet’s ghost-dad. Hermione is Ophelia. Ron is Horatio. Snape is Polonius. Voldemort is Claudius and Bellatrix is Harry/Hamlet’s mom, Gertrude. (Yes, the family units are really weird if you are thinking about this in the Harry Potter universe but, y’know, DON’T THINK ABOUT IT THAT WAY. It’s fine. We’re all fine. Be cool.)
Somehow, Harry Potter Hamlet is successful at satirizing both intellectual properties it’s based on, along with a hefty dose of pop culture mixed in to keep the crowd engaged. There’s everything from unappreciated feminist icon Hermione, Hamlet’s whiny hesitance about what to do, and the entire cast breaking out into the ‘Thriller’ dance at one point. There are tons of references to take in and of course, we’re geeks, so we eat that stuff up.
Anyways, we can’t say enough good things about our first documented ‘brokeventure.’ So much nerdy goodness. The production value was high, their sound guy/keyboardist was on point, it was an excellent and all around fun adaptation, and the best part is that this entire event is FREE (donations accepted). You can pay $1 for a raffle ticket to win a prize and at the end they gave the crowd otter pops so already you’re getting your money’s worth right there. If you live in Los Angeles, check this out on Saturdays and Sundays for the month of August at 11am at Media Park in Culver City. If you don’t, look up what Shakespeare in the Park performances are going on in your hometown for your own brokeventure!
