Nine Theatricals Hamlet Launch Party

On a clear Monday night on April 25th Nine Theatricals Presents held a launch party for their new venture, Hamlet: An Exploration, based largely upon Shakespeare's masterpiece. Matt de Rogatis, who plays Hamlet, was in attendance, as was director Jay Michaels, who is also a professor and an PR man in the daytime. "Shakespeare was the best public relations man that ever was," he said, at this festive gathering. We learned from the brief talk and interview that the costuming will be in steampunk and there is the addition of a new character: The Storyteller, who will be played by R.J. Lamb.

Director Jay Michaels has directed Hamlet 5 times previous. Hamlet: An Exploration will be his fifth rediscovery of the play. This interpretation brings in older versions of the Hamlet story, including Kidd's Hamlet, a Scandinavian version of Hamlet, and an earlier Roman version of the story. Matt de Rogatis called the interpreation "very unique." "Very unique," he continued, "in that there is a character in this story not written by Shakespeare." Ah, the elusive Storyteller. Not much was said about this unique addition to the Bard's masterpiece.

After Hamlet, in October Nine Theatricals Presents will perform The Collector, based on the John Fowles bestseller, that has never before been done in the United States.