Hidden deep within the bowels of DeBartolo Hall, the majesty of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" electrified the too often stagnant air of an often under-occupied classroom as the Not-So-Royal Shakespeare Company brought the 400 year-old text to life Thursday night. With a collection of some of the most talented actors the University has to offer, the NSRSC expertly tackled one of Shakespeare's most complicated plays.

When young Prince Hamlet (third-year law student Matt Holmes) returns home to Denmark upon news of his father's untimely death, he finds that his uncle, Claudius (senior Dan Fisher), has taken the throne and married his mother, Gertrude (junior Katy Kertez).

But it soon becomes clear that there is more than meets the eye to the king's death. Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his father (freshman Ceschino Brooks-DeVita) who reveals that his death was no accident and implores the prince to revenge his murder.

The disturbed prince feigns insanity to discover whether the specter's words are true. He convinces a traveling troupe of actors to perform a revised version of a play that suggests that Claudius murdered his brother. When the king becomes agitated, Hamlet and his best friend Horatio (junior Tom Conner) are convinced of his guilt and Hamlet vows to take down the king.

But Hamlet's single-minded vengeance costs the life of the woman he loves, Ophelia (junior Meg Ryan), whose brother, Laertes (Adel Hanash), vows to make Hamlet pay at any cost in turn. The situation quickly spirals out of control, fatalistically marching toward one of the bloodiest and tragic finales in Western literature.

"Hamlet" is considered by many to be Shakespeare's most difficult and most beautiful play. Some have contended that the show is, in fact, the single best play in the Western tradition. The Not-So-Royal cast and director senior JJ Marler immediately realized the enormity of producing the show.

"The expectations when people come to see `Hamlet' are so high that you have to know that you are going to get a great cast and great group of people to work around you," Marler said.

And Marler got exactly what he wanted. About half of the cast members are long-time veterans of the NSRSC, all having worked on three or four of the Company's previous shows. The other half of the cast making their debuts with the NSRSC had a strong foundation to build on. The cast also had a protracted rehearsal period of three and a half months to prepare the show.

"[The cast] started to gel right away because they've been on stage many times together … Some cast members started showing real chemistry on day one," Marler said.

The cast's hard work pays off in spades. Holmes captivates the audience with his portrayal of Hamlet, tapping into the deepest recesses of the character's turbulent thoughts to create one of the most amazing showcases of acting skill in a dramatic production at the University in recent memory.

He plays the role with passion and truth, embodying a Hamlet that is both tortured and pure. He dominates the show both physically and emotionally; the stillness in his death was only broken by the sobs of Conner's endearing and personable Horatio.

Ryan plays off of Holmes' powerful performance bringing to life a hauntingly real Ophelia who comes close to perfecting the lost love and sanity of the part.

"I think that putting on Hamlet at Notre Dame has raised the bar for things were trying tackle as far as subject matter," Ryan said. "I'm really proud of how it's turned out. I know I've learned a lot about myself as an actress playing this role, which is pretty much my dream role."

Fisher's turns in a chilling rendition of the fratricidal king sparing with Holmes through icy dialogues and fiery confrontations. Supported by Hanash's rapidly maturing Laertes, Kertez's Jackie Kennedy-esque Gertrude and senior Jeff Eyerman's Arthur Miller-like Polonius, the cast builds on each other's energy and abilities brilliantly.

In typical Not-So-Royal style, "Hamlet" is performed in a modern dress. That's not so say that the company has modernized the show itself.

"Shakespeare in his time would have performed his plays in modern dress. We're performing a play that is timeless and putting it in our own context, but we're not changing any of the themes," Marler said.

Overall, the performance of the cast and crew upon the horribly under-dramatic stage of 101 DeBartolo Hall is commendable. The many technical elements of the show involved in the numerous time consuming scene changes detracted greatly from this achievement. In a show that runs just over three hours, the use of an extended blackout and inconsistent, erratic and sometimes irrelevant music to cover the shifting of the minimalist furniture on stage seemed to be a waste of time that could have been better filled with the Bard's words. Though the use of furniture to establish setting illustrated the club's ability to function within its limited budget, its overall effect upon the scene was far less noticeable than its effect upon the runtime.

Stage manager Dave Hartwig marveled at how the Company managed to preserve the show's production process and come out with such a high quality product.

"The magic of theatre is that 20 plus people can get along for three and a half months, not kill each other and still put on, perhaps, the world's greatest play," Hartwig said.

"Hamlet" opened Thursday evening. The show will run tonight and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with a 2:30 p.m. matinee on Sunday. General admission is $8, $5 for students. Tickets are available at the door or in advance from the LaFortune Student Center box office. Call (574) 631-8128 for reservations.

Auditions for the Not-So-Royal Shakespeare Company's spring show "The Taming of the Shrew" will be held on Sunday and Monday from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Callbacks will be held Tuesday at 7 p.m. Callbacks and auditions will be held in 141 DeBartolo Hall. The audition will be cold readings from the script, but those auditioning may prepare a Shakespearian monologue if they care to. For more information visit www.nd.edu/~snelson3.

Contact C. Spencer Beggs at beggs.3@nd.edu and Chris Sandrock at sandrock.1@nd.edu

• Hamlet