"In its anatomizing of the psychodynamics of the rehearsal room, the play bears a resemblance to David Ives’s 'Venus in Fur.' It’s not, unfortunately, quite as entertaining. It is, however, suspenseful enough to sustain our interest...Both actors give strong performances."
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"Laurence gets a startling amount of mileage out of this soapy premise thanks to the show's off-kilter style, Lisa Peterson's modulated direction, transformative lighting and, indispensably, the electrifying Annette O’Toole. Though the play is ostensibly Michael's story, 'Hamlet in Bed' emerges as Anna's play."
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"'Hamlet in Bed' is clever and creepy and Laurence makes a charismatic nutjob. (O’Toole is also strong as the could-be mother.) The portions of narration written in verse are surprisingly solid...But the fascination of the cross-references pretty quickly pales, perhaps especially in Lisa Peterson’s stylishly noir production, leaving you with nothing but the obsession to hang on to. That’s insufficient...Even at only 90 minutes I began to feel I was trapped in someone’s scream-therapy session."
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"In the end, the play’s the thing. And despite some poetic passages, this one feels like a self-indulgent acting exercise...Lisa Peterson’s staging is aptly shadowy. Laurence does morose and angst like nobody’s business. O’Toole is gritty and touching. Despite that, 'Hamlet' grows wearying. Get thee to a Sleepy’s."
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"Despite its provocative if not exactly credible premise, the play doesn't succeed in making its disparate themes coalesce. Its strangeness is only emphasized by the varying theatrical styles employed...Laurence delivers a performance intense enough...But it's O'Toole, still sizzlingly sexy at 62, who's the standout here."
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"Under Lisa Peterson's direction, both Laurence and O'Toole deliver extremely fascinating performances that are the polar opposite of each other...Peterson's creative team complements the unnerving tone established early on...The full scenes themselves are much stronger overall, and it's lovely to watch Laurence and O'Toole sink their teeth into the compelling characters he has created."
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"Director Lisa Peterson has crafted a wonderfully bleak and tense production from Laurence's improbable psychological drama. The 90-minute two-hander is packed with some striking visuals and terrific acting, but the text itself fails to generate enough heat to match its attention-grabbing premise...By the time Michael quips to the audience that his misuse of a word was a 'Freudian slip, like this whole play,' you may be ready to agree with him."
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"There's a powerful, if contrived, idea at the center of 'Hamlet in Bed,' but, until it finally explodes in a blistering dramatic confrontation, it resides too firmly in the separate echo chambers of its protagonists' miseries. Anna and Michael are a pair of case studies, their interest more clinical than compelling. As Gertrude herself notes in Hamlet, what is wanted is more matter, less art."
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