KC Fringe "Hamlet vs. Zombies" review by JLin

When the Danish get a chemistry set....

Rating: 3

Hamlet vs. Zombies

KC Fringe Festival

The Skinny Improv's Hamlet vs. Zombies

As a scholar of Shakespeare and a lover of zombie flicks I knew that I had to see Hamlet vs. Zombies.  It was a clever combination of the Shakespearean language of Hamlet and the campy feel of bad horror films.

It was clear that the co-authors, Jeff Jenkins (Horatio) and Bryant Turnage (Claudius), are experts on both subjects and utilized their knowledge to make some very witty theatre.  I found myself and the rest of the audience bursting into laughter throughout the entire show.  However, I am worried that those audience members who aren't as well read in Shakespeare will miss out on some of the more obscure Hamlet references.  The characters also referred to some lesser known zombie films that even I, an avid fan, had to dig pretty deep into my memory to remember.

That being said, the attention to those smaller details took the show to the next level.  Simple things like confetti for blood, video journals instead of soliloquies, and the fact that Queen Gertrude has less clothing on every time she enters really give it an extra punch.

The majority of the cast had a great feel for the "spoof" style of the play, but there were a couple I was a little disappointed with.  Jake Young as Polonius was underwhelming and I often felt like he was taking the character too seriously.  Jennifer Eiffert (Gertrude) on the other hand took it way overboard and spent most of the time looking like a cartoon character.  They both needed to find a happy medium: acknowledge the fact that you are in a spoof play but know that it's only going to be funny if your character doesn't know it.  It's a thin line to tread, but I think the rest of the cast succeeded.

Overall the show was really well written and very funny.  I felt, however, that it drug on for a very long time (that was probably Hamlet's fault…all that procrastinating).  They could have a cut a full 30 minutes off of the show and it would have been sufficient.  By the end of the 90 minutes, the motif was wearing thin.

That being said, it is definitely worth seeing if you are a fan of Shakespeare and/or zombies.  You will never laugh this hard at one of Hamlet's monologues anywhere else.  Check out the remaining chances to see the show at www.kcfringe.org
3 out of 5 stars.