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When Michael Khalid Karadsheh’s black-suited, grief-stricken Prince delivers his first soliloquy in St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s 25th Anniversary production of Hamlet, everyone else onstage freezes, and you just know things are likely to end badly for this young Danish royal, along with much of the cast for that matter. Whether it’s Robert Eggers’ The Northman or Disney’s The Lion King, the narrative backbone of these tales is similar; the protagonist is driven to vengeance after his father, the King, is murdered by his uncle, who usurps the throne and hastily marries the queen.
The storms that swept through St. Louis a couple of weeks ago caused considerable damage to the Festival's set and lights in Shakespeare Glen, but this excellent staging opened as scheduled thanks to the herculean efforts of the staff and volunteers who came together to repair and rebuild, with impressive results. Scott C. Neale’s distinctive T-shaped set is a bit of a marvel. Its upstage space is like an open, two-tiered hallway with painted murals against the walls, where cast members are poised at the top of the play - a striking tableau. Later, a modular center section draws your eye to a unique view of... well, a pivotal death. You’ll know it when you see it. And a patch of earth that lies at the foot of the thrust serves as a constant reminder of the sudden passing that sets everything into motion.
