Matthew Everett has written a rave review of Hamlet, calling it “one for the ages.” He really dug our approach, lauding the production’s clarity, immediacy, accessibility, and emotional resonance. Some excerpts:

I ran into a gentleman the other evening who admitted, “It’s my third time seeing this production of Hamlet. It’s the best one I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen a couple at the Guthrie…But this one…”

…I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk just a little bit about Clarence Wethern’s turn as Hamlet. Damn.

What can I say? When Wethern portrays Hamlet, I understand, and I care.

If you’re going to see a Hamlet this year, and you should, see this one. Very highly recommended.

Read the full review at TC Daily Planet.

In addition to this review, we’ve gotten some incredible feedback in person from audience members, and there are some lovely audience reviews on Minnesota Playlist. If you’ve seen Hamlet, please consider taking a moment to post a review of your own there.

Two more weekends remain! You have six more chances to see this show. Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm. Visit theatreintheround.org for tickets or more info.

Hamlet Theatre in the Round Trailer from Matt Sciple on Vimeo.

I’m playing Hamlet! Right now! One audience review on Minnesota Playlist calls it “a truly moving performance, a noble mind indeed! Wethern is scary good!” It’s on the internet and true!

Director Matt Sciple assembled the trailer above using video he’s shot during performances. Of course, we all know that watching a handheld, videotaped recording of a play is…problematic. So, please keep that in mind and enjoy the trailer!

Before we opened, director Matt Sciple & I sat down with Josh Humphrey for an interview on the TC Theater Connection podcast. Listen to it here and be happy!

Tonight is the start of our third weekend. The response has been very positive, and I’m proud of my work. Sadly, the papers (Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, City Pages) have declined to review us for murky reasons, and needless to say, I’m frustrated about that. It’s my Hamlet, for cryin’ out loud ‘n’ stuff.

If you’ve seen Hamlet, please consider taking a moment to post an audience review on Minnesota Playlist. It may not seem like it, but even a few reviews on that online hub of Twin Cities theatre can make a real difference.

Recently, I was lucky enough to participate in a music video for Jonathan Coulton’s “Re: Your Brains,” directed by my buddy Bill Stiteler and featuring a big pile of local actor/geek types.

Since its debut yesterday, it’s scored over 14,000 views on YouTube, been mentioned on nerd blogs (Topless Robot, The Mary Sue) and local radio alike, and even Jonathan Coulton himself and Neil Gaiman have tweeted their approval.

Here it is in all its ridiculous glory:

Reviews are coming in for Jeeves in Bloom, and they’re mostly positive:

‘Jeeves’ is a crowd pleaser
by Ed Huyck, Lakeshore Weekly News

Old Log finds comic butler in Jeeves
by William Randall Beard, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Ed Huyck calls it “breezy and madcap,” and Randy Beard says it’s “quite funny and entertaining.”

Jeeves in Bloom by Margaret Raether, directed by Tom Stolz, runs through Feb 5, 2011. Visit www.oldlog.com or call 952-474-5951 for tickets.

And we’re off!

Jeeves in Bloom is now playing through February 5th, 2011 (whoa, that’s a long time).

The Lake Minnetonka area paper Lakeshore Weekly News has published an article about our show by Ed Huyck. Check it out:

Bertie Wooster, Jeeves come to Old Log

For more info and to purchase tickets, head over to www.oldlog.com.

Tomorrow morning, I begin rehearsal for Jeeves in Bloom at Old Log Theater, and it feels like the first day of school (in a good way).

Jeeves in Bloom is a new work by Margaret Raether, based on characters and situations from the stories of P.G. Wodehouse.  The cast includes David McMenomy as Bertie Wooster, Jim Cada as Jeeves, Jane Froiland as Madeline Bassett, and Sally Ann Wright as Aunt Dahlia.

I’m playing Gussie Fink-Nottle, friend to Bertie and admirer of Madeline Bassett.  From Wikipedia:

Described as “a teetotal bachelor with a face like a fish”, he wears horn-rimmed spectacles, and is a noted newt fancier.

Here’s Richard Garnett as Gussie in the excellent TV series Jeeves and Wooster.

Certainly, it’ll be an enormous struggle for me to play so egregiously against type.

As I sit here listening to The Smiths, drinking a Summit, and updating my website, I realize that it’s been ages since I’ve posted to the ol’ blog.   I suppose between Twitter and Facebook, I’ve sort of faded away from long-form blogging.  I’m sure everyone was really worried.

Anyway, my last post is from when I was playing Lorenzo in Theatre Pro Rata‘s production of The Spanish Tragedy.   I guess a lot has happened since then.

I returned to Bemidji, Minnesota, this summer to perform in two shows at Paul Bunyan Playhouse.  I played Eugene Jerome in Biloxi Blues and Barry Klemper in The Boys Next Door.  Both were good shows and great experiences.

I was promoted from actor to moderator at GTC Dramatic Dialogues.  It’s an interactive theatre program that mostly tours college campuses.  It’s inspired by Augusto Boal, Theatre of the Oppressed, Forum Theatre type of stuff.  There’s a moderator/host and three actors.  The actors perform scenes, stay onstage in character after each scene, and engage in a moderated talkback with the audience.  Far from the cheesy, after-school-special sorts of “issue” shows, GTC Dramatic Dialogues is always an engaging, even heated.  I love it.

Anyway, I’ve been an actor with GTC since 2006, and this year, I became one of the moderators.  It was a daunting position, as it requires a unique and intimidating skill set.  It’s like part discussion leader, part stand-up comic, part conflict mediator, and requires an enormous body of knowledge about our topics (diversity, sexual assault, & substance abuse) and all of the actors’ material as well.  By the time our Fall orientation tour commenced last month, I felt prepared but nervous as hell.  Thankfully, it was a completely wonderful, exhilarating experience.

Now, I’m about to start rehearsal at Old Log Theater in Excelsior, Minnesota, for Jeeves in Bloom, a new play by Margaret Raether based on P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves stories.  Not only is it a fun new comedy with a great cast & company, it’s also five months of continuous, well-paying employment!  Whoohoo!

The Old Log gig is also presenting me with the choice of whether or not to join Equity (the actors’ union).  In the Twin Cities, there’s a widely held opinion that non-union is an easier and more fruitful career path, but the reasons to join the union are extremely attractive.  Right now, I’m leaning towards joining, but I haven’t decided yet, and I’m asking around for advice.

In between theatre projects, I’ve been shooting a film for Dave Ash (which I may’ve mentioned on this blog before) called Connected.  It’s a feature length black comedy in which I play a frustrated, lonely computer programmer who can’t quite make his interpersonal relationships work.  He starts dating a woman (played by Bethany Ford) whom he found via an online dating site, and the film tracks their tragic attempt at a relationship.  The film will also feature Sam Landman and Charles Hubbell.

OK, so there’s me catching up in a ridiculously abridged way.  Hopefully, posts will be more frequent and entertaining in the future.  Or will they???

Some of us from The Spanish Tragedy recently appeared on the Twin Cities Theater Connection podcast with Josh Humphrey.  In attendance were:

Carin Bratlie, director
Keith Prusak, actor – “Heironimo”
Me, actor – “Lorenzo”
Kit Gordon – dramaturg

Go listen! http://bit.ly/d16639

Opening night of Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy is coming up soon which means haircut time!  As for the rest of my appearance, I’ve gained back most of the weight I lost for Some Girl(s) (nothing motivates weight loss like having to be in your underwear for a page and a half), so I’m not as soldierly and man-shaped as I’d like to be.  Oh, well.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present Lorenzo. Well, Lorenzo’s head, anyway.

It may be a bit late in the game, but I went to Booksmart and scooped up Machiavelli’s The Prince and Mandragola for research a few days ago.  There’s no overt reference to Machiavelli in The Spanish Tragedy, but Lorenzo’s actions are certainly informed by his medieval political theory.  Maybe I’ll have finished reading them by the time we close!

This is a really solid show.  A committed cast, straightforward, open staging, and lots of violence.  Whee!

Allons-y!

I’ve been involved in the development of a new play by Beck Lee called Subprime, which follows two dysfunctional, entitled Minnesotan couples on a NY vacation they can’t afford.  An earlier version had a staged reading at The Jungle last year, and there’s another one coming up on Monday the 22nd at Hennepin Stages.

Here’s the flyer: