To be or not to be?

Who knew . . . everyone dies in Hamlet?

Shakespeare in the park is a summer tradition here in Manhattan.  There is a beautiful outdoor theater in the middle of Central Park and every summer the public theater group performs two different plays written by Shakespeare.  Tickets are free but you have to wait in line that usually begins to form at 7am in the morning and starts to move at 1pm when they hand out two tickets per person.  It is a real treat to attend.  One of my newest friends Sarah and her cousin waited in line yesterday and invited my roommate and I to join them to see Hamlet last night.

If you are familiar with the play Hamlet written by Shakespeare then you will think my above statement is incorrect.  If you have no idea what I am talking about take a minute to read the SparkNotes on Hamlet - the story is morbidly fantastic and worth reading the overview.  However according to the version of the play I attended last night Haratio is shot at the end by Fortinbras after he tells everyone what has happened.  You gotta love New York, taking all sorts of artistic liberties to make everything bigger and better and more dramatic.  For a really long drawn out play they sure made you forget how long you were sitting there with a surprise murder of the most cool yet useless character at the very end.  Everyone was shocked including the man and woman sitting behind me who took turns reciting parts of the play with the actors/actresses throughout the entire show and they weren't whispering either.  I tried to look on the brite side - I had surround sound and if I missed I line I could easily turn around and ask them to repeat.

My observations:

1) Everyone dies, including Haratio (which isn't how it is in the actual play)

2) Plays in outdoor theaters are really cool in many ways, both experience and temperature, so plan accordingly

3) Junior Mints, Snickers candy bars, and Swedish fish make for a delicious dinner

4) If you bring your binoculars you most won't need them and vice versa

5) Shakespeare plays are a lot of fun because not only are you entertained by the performers but listening and following along gives your brain a nice little work out too.

6) The public theater group must have connections with the tv show Law & Order because several of the main actors were playing main roles in the play as well.

7) Watching Hamlet made me wonder how many crazy people in the world are not really crazy just acting out in hopes to fool others while they seek revenge on those who have wronged them by slaying their father in order to marry their mother and become the king all while being their uncle?

All in all, I enjoyed the show.