Taken together, they’re tantamount to a theatrical Super Bowl.
“Hamlet” is William Shakespeare’s most popular play and “King Lear” is his greatest. For actors, the demands, pitfalls and opportunities are the limit of the profession. Hamlet’s speeches evoke despair (“Oh, that this too too solid flesh would melt”), suicide (“To be or not to be”) and spiritual surrender (“There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will”).
Lear, a mighty king robbed of his might and reduced to a homeless beggar ranting on a stormy hill, embodies tragedy as personal tsunami. Lear rages loudly but pitifully against ungrateful children, God, nature and existence itself, splicing beauty, sadness, anger and insight unforgettably together. Hamlet’s speeches of spun gold are daunting for their popularity. Lear’s moments on the heath are all but impossible to deliver.
The two roles are being played out on Chicago stages at the same time — “Hamlet” at Chicago Shakespeare to open its 20th season, “King Lear” opened Monday at the Goodman as part of director Robert Falls’ 20th year.
What’s it like playing the two greatest roles in all of Shakespeare head-to-head?
“When I was offered the part, my thinking was pretty simple,” says Ben Carlson, the 37-year-old Canadian actor playing Hamlet to rave reviews. “I had to do it. If I don’t now, I may never get a chance. There was no getting out of it.”
Stacy Keach, the stage-screen-TV veteran familiar as the warden on “Prison Break,” is Lear. But he feels for Carlson. He’s done Hamlet three times. “Hamlet is more difficult,” he says. “Lear’s only in 11 scenes, an important character, whose journey you follow. But he’s part of an ensemble. Hamlet is more central to the experience of his play.”
Carlson doesn’t envy Keach, either. “What people say is true,” Carlson notes. “That by the time you’re old enough to fully grasp what Lear has been through, you’re actually too old to play the part physically. It’s such a mountain of a role.”
Keach, 65, insists, “Lear is a joy to play. He’s so much fun. He’s so liberating. Where Hamlet feigns madness, Lear really goes mad, and madness is liberating. It gives you license to express yourself however you want, as long as it’s full and honest.”
Falls’ “Lear” will evoke a raging, bloody, howling world indeed, its look inspired by the modern Balkan conflict and ethnic cleansing. Terry Hands, who’s staging “Hamlet,” offers a simpler, unadorned set, practically an empty stage.
Though the play carries his character’s name, Keach doesn’t see “King Lear” as Lear’s tragedy. “There’s humor and pathos, but his death isn’t the tragedy. He’s reconciled with his daughter, Cordelia, he accepts going to prison. The tragedy is that she dies. His death is a relief.”
Hamlet is a man of mystery, his motives and actions a matter of debate for centuries. Carlson says he felt the need to come up with his own answers, but is coy about revealing them. “Scholars have the task of dissecting the play and it’s important as an actor to understand where the play is going. You have to have ideas, you have to make decisions the best you can about Hamlet’s relationship with his mother, or with his father, which I think is equally important to him.
Hamlet’s speeches are like beloved, overly familiar pop lyrics, challenging to deliver with freshness. “I think we come out of the womb knowing the line ‘Something is rotten in the state of Denmark,'” Carlson jokes. “It’s the most quotable play ever written. You better know these speeches well, every crack, pore and nuance and understand them as best you can. And be willing to communicate the lines, not treat them as set speeches. The ‘To be or not to be’ soliloquy is not just a speech, but a character’s journey, and you have to convey that.”
Legends they may be, but brand new these roles must become. Says Keach, “You never want to give tonight’s audience last night’s performance.”
‘Hamlet’
When: Through Nov. 18
Where: Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 800 E. Grand Ave.
Price: $40-$67; 312-595-5600
‘King Lear’
When: Through Oct. 22
Where: Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St.
Price: $20-$75; 312-443-3800
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And also starring …
Between them, “Hamlet” and “King Lear” have plenty of other great parts for actors. Here are a few quick thoughts on these characters by those who are playing them.
“KING LEAR”
Howard Witt as the Fool (he accompanies Lear on his downward spiral): “The Fool I’m playing will not be the traditional Fool. He’s usually an acrobat, or singer, or someone quite flexible and young. I’m 74. I’ve been with Lear as long as Lear. There’s humor, but he’s a bitter Fool, a conscience-driven Fool. There’s love between him and Lear, though he’s a whipping boy, too. That’s his lot.”
Kate Arrington as Regan (one of Lear’s deceitful daughters): “We’re not trying to temper the nastiness of the two sisters, Goneril and Regan, but they do come from distinct backgrounds. They probably had separate mothers, and Regan is not as bright as her sister, she looks to Goneril for guidance. She’s also the product of an oversexed household and knows that’s one way to get things from people.”
Jonno Roberts as Edmund (son of the nobleman Gloucester who also is betrayed by his offsping): “He’s the baddie of the play. What I find interesting about his malevolence is that it isn’t justified. Iago in ‘Othello’ feels slighted and takes revenge. Edmund’s a guy who wants to change his position in life and has no qualmsabout doing anything to achieve it. He’s the consummate actor, liar and con man. Nothing gets in his way. It’s fun to play someone like that. He has no real moral anchor. His only morality is biological necessity. But he’s charming, and if I play him correctly, the audience will like him and then wonder how they liked someone so bad.”
HAMLET
Lindsay Gould as Ophelia (Hamlet’s love interest): “What I’ve discovered most is her really pure innocence. Her ability to trust and to love are huge. She goes mad because the world is not made for people like that. Yes, it’s a demanding role. It’s a sad role.”
Mike Nussbaum as Polonius (Ophelia’s father): “He’s one of the great theatrical characters in all literature. I love playing him. The advice he tells his son (‘To thine own self be true’) makes eminent sense. He worries his daughter is in a relationship that might destroy her, and he’s right. But he talks too much. He’s the quintessential politician, too much in love with the sounds of his own mouth. He’s funny and a lot of fun, too.”
–Sid Smith
