Theresa Rebeck’s BERNHARDT/HAMLET, now in its Chicago debut at the Goodman with direction from Donna Feore, is a comedic takedown of gender politics in the theater—and, as an extension, in society at large. Set in 1899, the play is Rebeck’s fictional reimagining of famed French actor Sarah Bernhardt’s experience portraying one of the most canonical roles in the theater: Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Rebeck’s play is often amusing, and her script is full of witty dialogue and one-offs. While the play’s themes surrounding gender roles and how so often women in power are questioned are undoubtedly timely, some of the ways in which those themes manifest in BERNHARDT/HAMLET are rather too pointed.
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