BTE debuts Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’

“Hamlet,” Feb. 25-March 14, Thursdays-Saturdays, 7:30 p.m., Sundays, 3 p.m., by Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble and Bloomsburg University Players, Alvina Krause Theatre (226 Center St., Bloomsburg). Tickets: $24 GA, $19 seniors/young professionals, $11 students, $5 BU students. Info: 570.784.8181, 800.282.0283, www.bte.org

“To be or not to be, that is the question.” Or so we’ve been told for more than 400 years. Not to be presumptuous, but perhaps for the next few weeks, the question should be “To BTE or not to BTE.” And the answer should definitely be “To BTE” as the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble and the Bloomsburg University Players team up to bring William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” to the stage under the direction of Gerard Stropnicky.

“At one point we all studied ‘Hamlet,’ and some of us fell in love with it,” Stropnicky says. “And if we didn’t study Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy in school, we got a healthy dose from pop culture — from classic Warner Bros. cartoons to ‘The Simpsons.’ We all learned ‘Hamlet’ through Bugs Bunny or something,” the director adds with a laugh.

Of course, there are the serious film versions, too, many of which Stropnicky’s taken in. Laurence Olivier brought the character to the silver screen in 1948. Mel Gibson tackled the iconic role in 1990. Kenneth Branagh served as screenwriter, director and star in his 1996 film. Stropnicky was particularly moved by a Russian version in black and white directed by Grigori Kozintsev in 1964. Then, of course, there are the slightly less serious takes on the tale, brought to light by “Mystery Science Theater 3000” and “Star Trek’s” menacing Klingons. The fact is, whether we are aware of it or not, “Hamlet” is everywhere.

“It pervades us,” says Stropnicky.

When BTE first started rehearsals, it taped a big piece of paper to the wall, stopping to jot down a line every time someone came to a cultural catch phrase.

“Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” “To thine own self be true.” “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” “The play’s the thing.” They quickly filled the first page and many more.

“We could just go on and on and on,” says Stropnicky. “The familiarity itself is one of the reasons it is so daunting.”

Even the fact that modern movies have brought the prince’s tale to so many is not always a plus.

“You can get misled with the film versions,” explains Stropnicky. “They can take you to a different location. The movies can take you anywhere. We can’t do that on stage. The theatricality of it was what I most wanted to celebrate.”

While preparing to direct, Stropnicky realized “Hamlet” is rich in theatricality. There’s the play within the play used to uncover treachery in the kingdom. Talk that Polonius had been an actor. Hamlet’s own theatrical knowledge and experience. Poetry full of nods to the Globe Theatre itself.

“It’s constantly referring to the theater,” Stropnicky says of the tragedy.

So the director chose to employ the overt theatricality of “Hamlet” in the BTE production. He removed the masking from the stage. All scene changes and backstage action will be visible to the audience. Props, set pieces, entrances and exits, even the fire hose are right there for all to see.

“We use the backstage as part of our world,” he says. “People ask me where our ‘Hamlet’ is set, and I say, ‘Elsinore. No, it’s in the theater.’”

One theater it has not been in, however, is the Alvina Krause Theatre, BTE’s home venue. That is, until now. In spite of the Ensemble’s rich tradition of Shakespeare — including “The Tempest” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” — this is the first time in the Ensemble’s 30-plus years it is bringing “Hamlet” to the stage.

“We’ve done lots of other Shakespeare, but we’ve never taken this one on,” Stropnicky says. “We needed just the right combination.”

And Stropnicky and the rest of BTE are convinced they’ve found it with Andrew Hubatsek starring as the tortured prince, talented Ensemble members tackling key roles and the Bloomsburg University Players rounding out the cast and providing invaluable technical support.

“The collaboration is making it all possible,” Stropnicky shares. “It gives us a chance to hand what we know about Shakespeare to another generation. It’s very exciting, and it’s working out really well.”

Working as an ensemble and knowing “Hamlet” was scheduled, the BTE had the advantage of pre-rehearsal preparations on everything from learning lines to blocking fight scenes. But even with extensive groundwork and terrific collaboration, there’s some trepidation.

“It’s just humbling,” the director begins. “The best theater minds in history have taken this on. I’d just be kidding myself if I thought anything we were doing was completely original. I’ve just had to say to myself, ‘OK, we’re part of a long tradition of this play, and we’re just serving it.’”

All worries aside, bringing one of the greats to the stage for the first time has been a ball.

“It was such a delight. I haven’t had this much fun at rehearsal in years,” Stropnicky says. “Everybody came to every rehearsal ready to play.”

Now BTE wants audiences to share in the experience, whether they know “Hamlet” from high school, Bugs Bunny or not at all.

“So many of us know it as literature, but it doesn’t really come to life until it comes out of the actors mouths,” Stropnicky says. “It’s a ghost story, it’s a revenge story, it’s bloody, there are bodies all over the stage, it’s funny. Just relax and give it a shot. It’s worth it. There is a reason why this play has so colored and changed and defined us as human beings, why it’s so deep in our culture.”

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