Bernhardt/Hamlet, a new play on Broadway by Theresa Rebeck about Sarah Bernhardt deciding to perform as Hamlet, is being given a first-rate production, with a winning cast led by Janet McTeer as Bernhardt, lively direction by Moritz von Stuelpnagel (Hand to God) , and a sumptuous design, especially the grand rotating set by Beowulf Boritt and the glorious costumes by Toni-Leslie James. But we don’t leave the American Airlines Theater with any clearer understanding than when we entered of whether or not Hamlet is (as one character says) “the greatest part ever written” or Sarah Bernhardt “the greatest actress ever born” – and if so, what makes them so.
Full review on DC Theatre Scene
Janet McTeer as Sarah Bernhardt in Bernhardt/Hamlet
Janet McTeer as Sarah Bernhardt as Hamlet
Dylan Baker and Janet McTeer in Bernhardt/Hamlet
Janet McTeer and Brittany Bradford
Jason Butler Harner and Janet McTeer
Dylan Baker as the veteran actor Constant Coquelin, Jason Butler Harner as her lover the playwright Edmond Rostand, Janet McTeer as Sarah Bernhardt and Matthew Saldivar as Alphonse Mucha, the artist who made her famous posters.
Jason Butler Harner, Janet McTeer and Dylan Baker
Sarah Bernhardt in the title role of “Adrienne Lecouveur” in 1880. The play is about the leading French actress of the 18th century and her mysterious death.
The actual Sarah Bernhardt as Cleopatra 1890
The famous poster of Bernhardt as Hamlet created by Alphonse Mucha (portrayed by Matthew Saldivar in Bernhardt/Hamlet)
Sarah Bernhardt as Hamlet. She performed the role in 1900 at the Garden Theatre.
