Texas Repertory Theatre's Production of Paul Rudnick's I Hate Hamlet is Theatre at its Very Best 

By Buzz Bellmont - Chron.com 

Andrew Rally seems to have it all: celebrity and acclaim from his starring role in a hit television series; a rich beautiful girlfriend; a glamorous, devoted agent; the perfect New York apartment; and the chance to play Hamlet in Central Park.   There are, however, a couple of glitches in paradise. Andrew's series has been canceled; his girlfriend is clinging to her virginity with unyielding conviction; and he has no desire to play Hamlet.  When Andrew's agent visits him, she reminices about her brief romance with John Barrymore many years ago, in Andrew's apartment.  This prompts a seance to summon his ghost.  From the moment Barrymore returns, dressed in high Shakespearean garb, Andrew's life is no longer his own.

 Barrymore, fortified by champagne and ego, presses Andrew to accept the part and fulfill his actor's destiny.  The action becomes more hilarious with the entrance of Andrew's deal-making friend from LA, spouting the laid-back hype of the Coast and offering Andrew a fabulous new TV deal worth millions of dollars.  

The laughs are nonstop as Andrew wrestles with his conscience, Barrymore, his sword, and the fact that he fails as Hamlet in Central Park. Texas Repertory Theatre's production of I Hate Hamletis a theatrical masterpiece no matter how you look at it.