June in NYC

June in New York has so far been more bearable weather-wise than last year. Last year was horrible. Today is the first rather grossly hot day, with temperatures expected to reach 93 degrees today. And to top it off its sticky, I feel like I was dumped into a pot of honey. I today is the kind of day where you shower in the evening and exfoliate your face to get rid of the skin cells that drowned in their own sweat.

I saw the Shakespeare in the Park production of "Hamlet" on Tuesday, I'm not sure if the production has officially opened yet, so here is my unofficial review:

Its a fine production. Not spectacular and not disappointing. It gets the job done well and makes some interesting choices. Although my friend and I both found the last action of the play rather disturbing, because it seemed "untrue" to the play. It was almost an excessively bold, ballsy, unnecessary choice.

However, all the other choices made were strong and clear. Hamlet is pretending to be mad, but Ophelia truly is mad. Hamlet felt like a driving force of the play, moving each action forward, while Gertrude seems a little weak. To top it off the production carries a light humor throughout the entire performance, which leads a refreshing newness to the play.

The set at first seems monstrous, lurking over the stage and audience, but quickly that changes. The largest of the set seems necessary, representing the fortress of Denmark. Down stage is a flame that burns the entire run of the show, an eternal flame in remembrance for Hamlet Sr. However, the problem with flames on stage, aside from the obvious burning factor, is that some one has to put it out. Oskar Eustis (director/ The Public artistic director) does not miss this trick. At the end Fortinbras triumphantly stamps out the quivering flame. The dynastic terror of the Hamlet family is over and so is the play.

The wonderful thing about New York in the summer is the absolute abundance of free entertainment in the form of concerts, plays, fairs, performances and other activities to distract people from the heat in the evenings. As a person who needs distractions I've started trying to get to one of these activities once a week. Last week I went to a video/sound installation that was originally made for the Lupercale festival in Rome. It was mostly a meditation on the two main elements necessary for the founding of Rome: Wolves and Water. It was less exciting than it could have been. But that's the problem with experimental installation art. Its either too edgy and no one wants to see it, or its watered down and boring. I think I'd take been shocked with the edgy any day of the week.