| ActorsNet Hamlet Trilogy poster |
I Hate Hamlet
by Paul Rudnick
January 12 - 28, 2001
Paul Rudnick's story of a TV soap opera star's trepidation at playing Hamlet in Central Park
opened the ActorsNet "Hamlet Trilogy". This timorous thespian just happens to be renting the apartment
once occupied by John Barrymore and through a series of circumstances including a seance,
accidentally conjures up the ghost of John Barrymore - "The Great Profile".
Barrymore obligingly coaches and coerces the actor into "going on with the show".
In the process some of the most famous speeches from "Hamlet" are quoted by Barrymore
and it was thought this show would be a good introduction for Net audiences to the classic drama -
scheduled next as the Net's first Shakespearean production.
Sell out audiences made the comedy the most successful non-musical in the little theater's history.
George Hartpence as Barrymore
Keith Kerns as TV star Andrew Rally
Tammy Koehler as Deirdre McDavey (Andrew's girlfriend)
David Anthony as Gary Peter Lefkowitz (Andrew's friend writer/producer/director)
Susan Barto as Felicia Dantine (realtor and psychic medium)
Jo Page as Lillian Troy (Andrew's agent and Barrymore's old flame)
| Keith Kerns (left) as Andrew Rally sneaks out of the closet while George Hartpence (right) as Barrymore demonstrates the finer points of fencing. |  | Barrymore gives the TV actor a fencing lesson |
In The Times of Trenton, Michael Kownacky wrote,
"The cast members assembled by director Joe Doyle are all clearly having the collective time of their lives.
Their enthusiasm is infectious."
 | 
(Click on the image for an "easier to read" pdf file. Use your Adobe Acrobat Reader to adjust the print size and orientation) featuring photo of Keith Kerns as TV star Andrew Rally, Tammy Koehler as his girlfriend, Deirdre, and George Hartpence as the ghost of "The Great Profile" - John Barrymore | 
(Click on the image for an "easier to read" pdf file. Use your Adobe Acrobat Reader to adjust the print size and orientation) featuring a "seance" rehearsal photo with (from the left) Keith Kerns as Andrew Rally, Susan Barto as real estate agent Felcia Dantine, Tammy Koehler as Andrew's girlfriend, Deirdre McDavey, and Jo Page as Andrew's agent and Barrymore's former lover, Lillian Troy |
cover from Bucks County "Time Off' Entertainment supplement January 12 - 21, 2001 Tammy Koehler as Deirdre McDavey and George Hartpence as John Barrymore's ghost in rehearsal for Paul Rudnick's "I Hate Hamlet" for the ActorsNet of Bucks County | "Long Live the King" article by Jodi Thompson about the ActorsNet of Bucks County's Hamlet Trilogy. pg 1 | "Long Live the King" article by Jodi Thompson about the ActorsNet of Bucks County's Hamlet Trilogy. pg 2 |
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| Net program cover | Cast photo (rear from left) Keith Kerns, Susan Barto, David Anthony (front from left) Tammie Koehler, George Hartpence, Jo Page |
Fight Choreography rehearsal photos: | |
 Fencing Maestro Mark Holbrow instructs George Hartpence and Keith Kerns | 
Keith Kearns expertly (?) parries an overhear cut from George Hartpence |
Mark Holbrow (center) explains the parry |  Keith in the closet... |
Production Photos: | |
 The seance | 
Barrymore appears |
George Hartpence channeling John Barrymore | 
Jo Page as Lillian Troy - Barrymore's old flame |
Barrymore give Andrew tips on how to woo Deirdre Tami Koehler as Deirdre, eorge Hartpence as Barrymore's ghost, and Keith Kerns as Andrew Rally | 
Barrymore enjoys the view |
Not bad work for a guy who's not even there... | 
David Anthony (right) as Gary Peter Lefkowitz and Susan Barto (left) as realtor Felecia Dantine |
Barrymore gives Andrew some fencing lessons George Hartpence (left) as Barrymore's ghost Keith Kerns (right) as TV star Andrew Rally | 
"Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you..." George Hartpence (left) as Barrymore's ghost Keith Kerns (right) as Andrew Rally |
 The Bow | 
You're too kind... |
I Hate Hamlet
| I Hate Hamlet by Paul Rudnick Actors'NET of Bucks County production January 2001 slide show |
Hamlet
Top Left: Mort Paterson as Polonius and George Hartpence as Hamlet.
Top Center: Tammie Koehler as Ophelia and Kevin Cassel as Horatio.
Top Right: Hugh Barton as Claudius, George Hartpence as Hamlet, Carol Thompson as Gertrude.
Bottom Right: George Hartpence as Hamlet.
February 16 - March 4, 2001
starring George Hartpence as Hamlet
and featuring
Carol Thompson as Gertrude
Hugh Barton as Claudius
Tammy Koehler as Ophelia
Mort Paterson as Polonius
Barry Schechter as Laertes
Kevin Cassel as Horatio
Paul Dake as Rosencrantz
Steve Lobis as Guildenstern
Curtis Kaine as The Player King
And With: Melissa Charlton, Giz Coughlin, Ryan Dethy, Phil Fagans,
Stephen Hersh, Marco Newton, Ed Patton, Todd Reichart, and George Reilly as the Ghost of Hamlet's Father
Fencing Master for the production was Maestro Mark Holbrow of the Bucks County Academy of Fencing
*** see slide show of Hamlet production photos below ***
For four hundred years Hamlet has been the most respected and popular play in the English language.
In the words of Ernest Johnson, "the dilemma of Hamlet the Prince and Man" is
"to disentangle himself from the temptation to wreak justice for the wrong reasons and in evil passion,
and to do what he must do at last for the pure sake of justice.… From that dilemma of wrong feelings and right actions,
he ultimately emerges, solving the problem by attaining a proper state of mind."
Hamlet endures as the object of universal identification because his central moral dilemma transcends
the Elizabethan period, making him a man for all ages.
In his difficult struggle to somehow act within a corrupt world and yet maintain his moral integrity,
Hamlet ultimately reflects the fate of all human beings.
Rehearsal/Publicity photos:
| Tammie Koehler (right) as Ophelia and George Hartpence (left) as Hamlet Get thee to a nunnery! |  | Hamlet and Yorick |
| A little more than kin, and less than kind! | 
| To be, or not to be |
 | ActorsNet program cover |
Production photos:
 | Claudius (left - Hugh Barton) urges Hamlet (center- George Hartpence) to "think of us as of a father" while Gertrude (right - Carol Thompson) looks on. |  | Polonius (left- Mort Paterson) encourages his son Laertes (right - Barry Schechter) to "neither a borrower, nor a lender be." |
 | Hamlet (right - George Hartpence) informs Polonius (left - Mort Paterson) that what he reads is "words, words, words..." |  | Rosencrantz (left - Paul Dake) and Guildenstern (right - Steve Lobis) are confounded by "what a piece of work is man." Hamlet (center - George Hartpence) |
 | "I have heard that guilty creatures, sitting at a play..." Hamlet (George Hartpence) decides "the play's the thing." |  | "When he himself might his quietus make with a bare bodkin." Hamlet (George Hartpence) ponders whether "to be, or not to be." |
 | Hamlet (left - George Hartpence) instructs the Player King (right - Curtis Kane). |  | The court assembles to hear the play "The Murder of Gonzago". Front left to right: Hamlet (George Hartpence), Ophelia (Tammie Koehler), Polonius (Mort Paterson), Claudius (Hugh Barton), Gertrude (Carol Thompson) Rear left to right: Guildenstern (Steve Lobis), Rosencrantz (Paul Dake), gentlewomen (Giz Coughlin and Melissa Carlton), Osric (Phil Fagans) court servant (Marco Newton) |
 | After killing Polonius behind the arras in his mother's chamber, Hamlet (right - George Hartpence) sees the ghost of his father. Gertrude (left - Carol Thompson) does not. |  | Gerturde (left - Carol Thompson) tries to comfort the mad Ophelia (right - Tammie Koehler) |
 | Laertes (far right - Barry Schechter) returns home to find that his sister Ophelia (right - Tammie Koehler) upon hearing the news that Hamlet has murdered her father. Gertrude (far left - Carol Thompson) and Claudius (left - Hugh Barton) look on. |  | Hamlet (George Hartpence) decides that "from this time forth, my thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!" |
 | Hamlet (right - George Hartpence) introduces Horatio (right - Kevin Cassel) to Yorick (skull center). |  | Claudius (center - Hugh Barton) makes peace between Hamlet (left - George Hartpence) and Laertes (right - Barry Schechter) before the duel begins. |
 | Osric (center - Phil Fagans) begins the duel as the court looks on. |  | Hamlet (left center - George Hartpence) dies in Horatio's (right center - Kevin Cassel) arms. "The rest is silence." |
In his review of Hamlet, Stuart Duncan (Princeton Packet Time Off, Time Off Bucks County) wrote:
"This is the most uncluttered production you are apt to see of the great Shakespeare play in your lifetime — completely defined and easy to follow. Even the kids will love it. In fact, take them. ...A rousing tale of betrayal, revenge and retribution — in all its fiery heritage. ... Here, [George Hartpence] has taken a huge challenge, met it squarely and won big."
George Hartpence and director Cheryl Doyle edited the script to condense the potentially four-hour playing time into a version that
would run approximately 3 hours.
To view the edited text of this "uncluttered production", follow the link at the bottom of this page:
Hamlet
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard
March 16 - April 1, 2001
This humorous, absurdist and existentialist play concerns the misadventures and musings of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern,
two minor characters from William Shakespeare's Hamlet who are friends of the Prince,
focusing on their actions while the events of Hamlet occur as background.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is structured as the inverse of Hamlet;
the title characters are the leads, not minor players, and Hamlet himself has only a small part.
The duo appears on stage here when they are off-stage in Shakespeare's play,
with the exception of a few short scenes in which the dramatic events of both plays coincide.
For this rendition of Tom Stoppard's comedy most of the company reprised their roles from the previous "Hamlet" production.
| Starring:
Paul Dake as Rosencrantz (in photo, left)
Steve Lobis as Guildenstern (in photo, right)
Curtis Kaine as the Leading Player
George Hartpence as Hamlet (in photo, center) Featuring:
Hugh Barton, Kevin Cassel, Curtis Kaine, Tammy Koehler, Mort Paterson, and Carol Thompson. With: Melissa Charlton, Ryan Dethy, Phil Fagans, Mitch Gerson, Keith Kerns, and Stephen Hersh
|
In The Times of Trenton, Anita Donovan wrote:
"Actors' NET of Morrisville has capped its ambitious 'Hamlet Trilogy' with a lively and absorbing rendition
of Tom Stoppard's mind-twisting comedy, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead."
 |  |
| ActorsNet poster | ActorsNet program cover |
Paul Dake (left) as Rosencrantz Steve Lobis (right) as Guildenstern | 
Caludius (Hugh Barton) and Gertrude (Carol Thompson) receive Rosencrantz and Guildenstern |
Hamlet (Geirge Hartpence - center left) consults with the Player King (Curtis Kaine - far left) | 
Georeg Hartpence (reclining) as Hamlet Mort Paterson as Polonius |
Curtis Kaine as The Player King | 
The Players: from top - Ryan Dethy, Steve Hirsch, Keith Kerns, Phil Fagans, and Mitch Gerson |
 The Players disporting | 
playing upon each other |
 "My excellent good friends." | 
R and G are reassured of their circumstances |
 trip to the nunnery... George Hartpence as Hamlet and Tammie Koehler as Ophelia (stage right) Curtis Kaine (center) as The Player King Steve Lobis and Paul Dake (left) as Guildenstern and Rosencrantz | 
The Murder of Gonzalo by The Players |
 R and G discuss options while accompanying Hamlet to England | 
The players emerge |
 Hamlet relaxes on the sea voyage | 
The boys realize this may not be going all that well for them |
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
| Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard Actors'NET of Bucks County production April 2001 slide show |
This page was last modified on Monday, November 19, 2007