INTERVIEW: You’re invited to ‘Hamlet,’ this time as a telenovela
Photo: Hamlet: La Telenovela stars, from left, Shlomit Roen, Castor Pepper and Federico Mallet. Photo courtesy of FRIGID New York / Provided by Emily Owens PR with permission.
Hamlet: La Telenovela, the new sendup of William Shakespeare’s famous play, continues performances through Sunday, July 30 at the Kraine Theater in New York City. The show, translated by José María Ruano de la Haza, is directed by Federico Mallet and comes to New York City courtesy of FRIGID New York, Something From Abroad and Quemoción.
This particular adaptation of the Bard’s classic play heightens the melodrama, according to press notes. The action, involving Hamlet, Gertrude, Ophelia and Claudius, is played for laughs, as if the family drama were part of a television soap opera. Helping to bring this vision to life are the cast members Andy Price, Silvana González, Mallet, Martha Preve, Gabriel Rosario, Shlomit Oren, Castor Pepper and Pelayo Álvarez.
Hollywood Soapbox recently exchanged emails with Mallet, who also plays the title character of Hamlet. The Brooklyn-based director serves as assistant artistic director at Village Playback Theater, “an improv-based theater company that focuses on amplifying the stories of people from underserved communities in Metro NY.” He often collaborates with Something From Abroad, a group founded by Hispanic immigrant women, according to his official biography. He is also co-founder, with Alexandra Gomez, of Quemoción. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
Hamlet: La Telenovela sounds like a wild ride. What can audiences expect?
That is a very accurate description! It’s a wild ride indeed! They can expect a surprising marriage between Shakespeare and telenovelas that ends up making total sense. It is a parody of both but done with so much love and respect. In this show, big emotions and big laughs come hand in hand. They’ll get to see the exact same story they know, but in Spanish with English subtitles, and with all the components of Latin American melodrama. It was exciting to realize we didn’t have to change the original text for these two worlds to merge together.
Are you a big fan of telenovelas, or did you have to conduct some research?
Oh, big fan! They were a pretty consistent part of my cultural diet growing up. They’re so much fun because the stakes are always as high as can be, and the characters give into these gigantic emotions, something we’re regularly told not to do So watching them do that is such a cathartic experience, and I think the same thing is true for Shakespeare’s plays. It was so much fun to find all the commonalities between the two, like the fact that characters can’t help but reveal their deepest secrets out loud when they’re on their own (that’s just one of many).
How does one direct melodrama? How do you strike the right balance?
Because this is a parody, it’s not pure melodrama; it ends up being quite farcical. The line between those genres becomes quite blurry because so many telenovelas come close to a farce depending on their tone and end up having a more comedic effect (sometimes intentional, sometimes not so much). There’s no room for subtlety, that’s for sure, and that’s a very refreshing and fun thing to do because we don’t have to measure ourselves as much. I will say that even though this is “over the top,” you have to treat the characters with care and love, while making sure they have a heart so that we’re laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation but also rooting for them.
When did you realize you wanted to become a theatrical director?
Very early on. I was putting on shows with my toys and siblings as early as age 3. I do believe we know exactly who we are and what we love from a very young age, but it’s easy to lose track because we get pulled in all sorts of different directions growing up. I was lucky enough to always stay in touch with this passion of mine. More formally, it happened in high school when I got to direct Rent in the 11th grade; that’s when I learned the value of a theatrical family and the power of that bond you can create with an audience. That left a mark on me, and now I always focus on working with people who understand the appeal of truly creating a community during the time you’re working together. And such is the case with this cast.
What’s it like to work and collaborate with Something From Abroad?
This is our fourth collaboration together, and it’s always an incredible experience. We are so lucky to be a resident company with FRIGID New York, which means we have a lot of freedom in putting together work that excites us. Martha Preve, the company’s founder, started it with the goal of showcasing narratives and talents from around the globe; in this cast alone we have people from Venezuela, Colombia, Israel, Mexico, Spain … and we get to learn from each other’s sensitivities. My experiences with SFA are always very freeing and communal; it’s like a laboratory where everybody chips in and ends up wanting to be involved beyond their responsibilities. It’s a culture where people uplift each other, so I’m very proud to be a part of this company.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Hamlet: La Telenovela, starring and directed by Federico Mallet, continues through Sunday, July 30 at the Kraine Theater in New York City. The show is a collaboration amongst FRIGID New York, Something From Abroad and Quemoción. Click here for more information and tickets.
