D.C. Theatre: Prepare to Fan over this New Work of Fiction
Who knew that Hamlet, Spock, and Sherlock Holmes had so much in common?
If you have ever savored the works of William Shakespeare, J.R.R. Tolkien, or even Stephanie Meyer, and you live in the Washington, D.C. area, stop what you’re doing and book a ticket to Alexandra Petri’s new play, To Tell My Story: a Hamlet Fanfic, on stage now in Silver Spring.
Fans of Petri’s writing will know her style of vignettes from the imagined dialogues between the Cheeto-in-chief and his trusted advisers in her Washington Post column, a godsend that revives any D.C. policy wonk on the hill after a particularly arduous day of scream-crying.
Petri is D.C. playwright collective The Welders’ current lead producing playwright, and her new work is a marvel. The first 30 minutes explains and pays fierce homage to the weird and wonderful art of fan fiction, right down to the Archive Of Our Own-style tags in the program. What comes after only increases in artistry. Petri has written a Russian nesting doll of a play, which casts Hamlet in an alternate high school universe (AU — High School) from the points of view of three teenage girls, Elsie (Prince Hamlet, née Elsinore), Ophelia, and Horatio, who all share a love for re-imagined narratives of their favorite fictional and historical characters (especially Abraham Lincoln). The jokes hit their mark smartly and frequently, and the depth of heartbreak surprises.
A note to audiences: this play is much more enjoyable after a basic SparkNotes refresh of the plot and characters of Hamlet, and a conversation with a teen about Slash romances (for example, Kirk/Spock or Captain America/Tony Stark).
One has to appreciate the level of research it took to write this play: from countless hours into the dark side of the Internet, to mapping the character traits of Shakespeare’s players as they relate to adolescence in 2017, to plotting how deadly hijinks would ensue in a social media-saturated environment. If it sounds like I’m fangirling, I am: after previews, Petri told me that she had been working on this labor of love for around a year, and that the company had been rehearsing since May. I would have guessed much longer for such sophisticated ensemble work. That’s the magic of Petri’s writing on stage as well in her columns and blog: it packages imposing volumes of subject matter expertise in witty jokes and fine attention to detail. Her comedy befits the school of humor of Kate Beaton, creator of Hark! A Vagrant, and Mallory Ortberg, the genius behind The Toast.
Petri’s team of collaborators match her in diligence. The Welders’ mission to support, inspire, and engage with risk-taking new works of theatre shows in every aspect of the production. Each set item is chosen with care, from the Sherlock stickers on Elsie’s walls to the fan favorite sweater of an imagined John Watson. The tech team’s visual projections of Tumblr posts, Facebook Live videos, and instant messenger chats surpasses in believability the deft displays of digital communication in Arena Stage’s production of Dear Evan Hansen; true to life, ellipses and typos carry great weight in Internet conversations as vehicles for angst. Director Megan Behm has found a perfect balance between the gleeful energy of a D.C. Fringe Festival show and precisely choreographed costume changes in league with Fiasco Theater’s recent production of Into the Woods at the Kennedy Center. She runs a tight set and brings out performances in each actor that make you empathize with the harrowing struggles of teenage bullies, aloof parents, and social cliques on par with the excellent 13 Reasons Why Netflix series.
This ensemble cast has no weak links. Sarah Taurchini shape-shifts so convincingly that you’ll barely have time to consider how she morphed from Ophelia to Mom to Bella Swan in an instant. Chloe Mikala gives an engaging performance as the story keeper Horatio, despite spending most of her time narrating behind a keyboard. And the biggest laughs come from moments where the powerful Annie Ottati is feverishly editing passages of sexual tension between fictional characters like Spock and Captain Kirk, while whimsical Shravan Amin and Colin Connor extend their sighs and intensify their pining gazes — at the beck and call of Elsie’s imagination — without ever breaking character.
As the story makes clear, when words fail, references to popular culture can help convey emotion. This play will impart upon you the cheer of Gimli the Dwarf when he spies a tall mug of ale (or coffee), the clarity of Sherlock Holmes when he cradles a violin, the shock of Steve Rogers when he hears a curse word, and the pride of Harry Potter when he clasps the golden snitch.
Above all, To Tell My Story: a Hamlet Fanfic captures the magic of the writing process. When everything in life seems beyond your control, you can still shape the arc of your own story and the fate of its characters. The play is more expansive than the sum of its parts: it is not only a parody and a love story, but also a masterful new work of art in its own right. I only hope that one day this play will have its own following eager to write fan fictions.
Details: To Tell My Story: a Hamlet Fanfic runs July 18–30, 2017, at the Silver Spring Black Box, 8641 Colesville Rd, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910. It is Metro accessible from the Red Line, Silver Spring station. Tickets are $15 for students with ID and military families, $30 for the general public.
This review was edited by Ioana Cristei and Anna-Claire McGrath.
