​There’s a misty moodiness to the outdoor stage at Lapham Peak in Delafield. The late summer haze finds a perfect outdoor home for SummerStage’s production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Director Dustin J. Martin finds the classic heart of the tragedy with a pleasantly familiar staging to Shakespeare’s classic. Zach Thomas Woods is a deeply charismatic figure as the emo college kid who is home from classes in Wittenberg visiting family tragedy. His father’s dead. His father’s ghost tells him that it his uncle who is responsible. The madness plays itself out from there in a thoroughly engaging production. Some of Shakespeare’s best-known moments take their turn on a simple stage. It’s absurdly difficult to find original energies in so much of Hamlet’s speech from the gravedigger’s scene to that impossible soliloquy at the top of Act III. Woods finds quite a bit of genuine emotion in and amidst the cliched vocalizations of a character who can often read like little more than a cover band doing Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits. On some level, Hamlet seems like some tedious emo kid who is always quoting Shakespeare. It's difficult to navigate around the ominous echo of the play's history. Woods finds the soul at the heart of the cliche and brings it to the stage quite admirably.


Michael Chobanoff is suitably duplicitous in th role of King Claudius--the man who murdered Hamlet’s father in order to claim the throne. Chobanoff manages a much more dominant stage presence in the role of the villain than most actors often manage. The politician’s presence that settles-in around Chobanoff finds a perfect match to Woods’ crafty madness in the role of Hamlet.


Ariana Manghera’s Ophelia finds a sharp and emotional connection with Woods’ Hamlet. It’s often difficult to find a genuine connection between the characters in and amidst the machinations of murder and political intrigue that dominate the plot. Manghera deftly finds the strength in Ophelia that can be so difficult for most actresses to locate. She’s got a solidly well-articulated chemistry with Woods that works its way through the edges of the play with striking clarity in and amidst all of the heartache and political drama.


The big finale comes across with uncommon strength thanks to the passion of Josh Scheibe as Ophelia’s brother Laertes. An early appearance firmly establishes a family connection between Laertes, Ophelia and their father. (William Molitor lends a paternal texture to the proceedings as their father Polonius.) A deft establishment of that connection serves as a firm foundation for the tragedy near the play’s end. Scheibe cleverly wields that tragedy as a slicingly precise motivation for the tragedy’s climactic conflict.


The physics energy of the drama’s aggression makes a compelling appearance on the stage thanks to the work of fight choreographer Christopher Elst. The sword fight between Hamlet and Laertes jumps around the outdoor set with pragmatic energy that eschews unnecessary flair in favor of a classy dramatic poise. Elst’s fight choreography moves everything quite gracefully across the stage with the kind of energy that blunts some of the strangely dark and inadvertent comedy that can sometime unfortunately surface amidst a whole bunch of dead people onstage at the end of the tragedy.


SummerStage of Delafield’s production of Hamlet continues through September 7th at Lapham Peak on W329 N846 County Highway C in Delafield. For ticket reservations and more information, visit Summerstage online.

Once again, Milwaukee Irish Fest rolls its way through the Maier Festival grounds this weekend. The Theatre Pavilion comes to rest just precisely where it has in recent years: in a cozy, little snug place just beyond the water that’s far from the noise and commotion of the rest of the fest. I had an opportunity to see a couple of performances opening night.

​Irish Fest continues through Sunday, August 19th at Henry Maier Festival Park. For a complete listing of upcoming events at the Theatre Pavilion, visit Irish Fest online.