In honor of Shakespeare’s 450th birthday, Olin MBA ’13 Kevin Arkell helped create a re-envisioning of the famous Hamlet. While “Make Hamlet” includes most of the lines from the Shakespeare original, it is far from the same play.
This review is by Michael McLaughlin, MBA’14
Only six actors are used, requiring the cast members to play a variety of roles. At one point a man burst onto the stage dressed in a clown suit, when only moments before, he had delivered an impassioned speech about honor.
Props were either chosen for comedic or economic reasons, which became apparent when the regal king arrived on stage with a walking cane that upon closer inspection turned out to be a golf putter he was holding upside down.
The play was filled with surprises throughout, starting with the moment when the cast members got dressed in front of the audience and ending with a flurry of activity that included running around, impassioned pleading, and something very bad happening to the clown suit.
“Make Hamlet” is the brainchild of Kevin’s wife Lucy, an MFA from Columbia who is the creator of Equally Represented Arts. The play is based on Lucy’s master’s thesis, and she recruited Kevin to be the Managing Director based on his marketing knowledge from his time at Olin.
Kevin is now an up-and-coming executive at Nestle Purina, and in the course of his job he has rubbed shoulders with the likes of Grumpy Cat. Kevin has discovered that the famous cat is actually quite happy, which might be due to the fact that the cat is a multimillionaire. Apparently the “grumpy” image it projects is just another clever example of brand management.
If you would like to see “Make Hamlet”, the remaining shows will be taking place April 28 through May 3. Showtime is 8 p.m. at The Chapel on 6238 Alexander Drive, near the Wash. U campus.
Tickets are available at www.artful.ly/era
The website for Lucy’s theater company is www.EquallyRepresentedArts.com
You can also follow the event page for “Make Hamlet” on Facebook or contact Kevin at k.c.arkell@gmail.com
