Queen Gertrude (Jeanne Louise) and King Claudius (Harvey Williams) partake in a brief discussion on the set of the Twin Beach Players version of “Hamlet.”
Laertes (Aaliyah Roach) engages in a sword fight with Hamlet (Rachel Clites Cruz) during a scene of the Twin Beach Players version of “Hamlet,” which runs for eight shows beginning Sept. 20 in North Beach.
King Claudius, played by Harvey Williams, wrestles with his past in a scene of the Twin Beach Players production of “Hamlet” which runs for eight shows beginning this weekend at the Boys & Girls Club of Southern Maryland in North Beach.
King Claudius (Harvey Williams) and Rosencrantz (Addie Quinn) have a brief discussion during a scene of the Twin Beach Players version of Hamlet which begins its run of eight shows on Sept. 20 at the Boys & Girls Club in North Beach.
Queen Gertrude (Jeanne Louise) and King Claudius (Harvey Williams) partake in a brief discussion on the set of the Twin Beach Players version of “Hamlet.”
TED BLACK/Southern Maryland News
Laertes (Aaliyah Roach) engages in a sword fight with Hamlet (Rachel Clites Cruz) during a scene of the Twin Beach Players version of “Hamlet,” which runs for eight shows beginning Sept. 20 in North Beach.
TED BLACK/Southern Maryland News
Queen Gertrude (Jeanne Louise) pleads with Hamlet (Rachel Clites Cruz) during a scene of the Twin Beach Players version of “Hamlet.”
TED BLACK/Southern Maryland News
King Claudius, played by Harvey Williams, wrestles with his past in a scene of the Twin Beach Players production of “Hamlet” which runs for eight shows beginning this weekend at the Boys & Girls Club of Southern Maryland in North Beach.
TED BLACK/Southern Maryland News
King Claudius (Harvey Williams) and Rosencrantz (Addie Quinn) have a brief discussion during a scene of the Twin Beach Players version of Hamlet which begins its run of eight shows on Sept. 20 at the Boys & Girls Club in North Beach.
Those who enjoy plays by legendary playwright William Shakespeare will argue about which one of the Bard’s works is truly best, and one of those plays typically in the discussion will be featured this month as the Twin Beach Players present “Hamlet” for eight shows beginning this weekend.
Directed by Harvey Williams and Rachel Clites Cruz, who also plays the title character, the Twin Beach Players production of “Hamlet” will feature the numerous memorable characters and lines made famous by the Bard centuries ago although in costumes more reminiscent of the 1920s. In one scene, however, known as the play within the play, the characters don costumes more conducive to far more basic productions.
Its numerous characters and plot twists are accompanied by memorable lines such as “To thine own self be true” and “There are far more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy,” and of course the engrossing soliloquy in which the title character initially asks, “To be or not to be, that is the question” as his madness approaches.
Williams, however, insisted that a hint of comedic tones were introduced to this version of the play.
“I’ve always loved Shakespeare,” said Williams, who also plays King Claudius in addition to directing the play. “I’ve read ‘Hamlet,’ I’ve seen the play and the movies and I’ve always wanted to direct it. But for our version I wanted to have a 1920s theme, complete with the costumes and a lot of the characteristics of the era.”
Cruz, who also admits a passion for performing in Shakespeare plays dating back to her youth, yields most of the directing chores to Williams for this version while also playing the title character.
Her willingness to assume the lead role came with the knowledge and understanding that Hamlet represents the ultimate challenge for any performer.
“Playing Hamlet is so challenging because his character is the epitome of all Shakespeare characters. He not only has the most lines and the most scenes, but he has seven soliloquies,” she said. “But I’ve always wanted to play Hamlet and be a part of this production. This is only my second time actually being up on stage with Twin Beach Players, but we have an amazing cast and crew here.”
Many of the Twin Beach Players regular performers each have key roles in “Hamlet,” including Cruz as the title character and Williams as King Claudius and Alexys Adams as Ophelia, Aaliyah Roach as Laertes, Terri McKinstry as Polonius and V. Stardust as Horatio, although audience members will notice that, by design, three characters typically deemed male are played by actresses and intentionally dubbed as female.
Cruz and Williams both noted that the strength of the Twin Beach Players over the years has been its willingness to attract and develop younger performers, with Addie Quinn, still one year removed from her freshman year at Huntingtown High School, playing dual roles as Rosencrantz and Marcellus.
“I got into the theater mainly because my older brother was an actor,” Quinn said. “I love working with the actors and directors here at Twin Beach Players. I usually have done other comedies, but I like being in something serious.”
