Last week, we traveled to Cedar City to see
Drama Queen in her final production as a student at
Southern Utah University. She played the title role in
Hamlet. Yes, that Hamlet, the famous one by the Bard of Stratford-upon-Avon. The director looked at the talent in the program and decided to do a gender-swap version, so she wasn't Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, but Hamlet, Princess of Denmark. Claudius was also a woman, as were Horatio and Laertes. Ophelia and Gertrude were men. The only roles sticking strictly to the traditional genders were Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Polonius. Although you may call me biased, I think she did an amazing job. She owned the role and the stage every time she was present, even when not speaking.
We're not the only ones who think so. Here's a link to a review of the closing night in
USA Today.
It's been an amazing journey, and we are so glad that she has found something she is so passionate about. She will graduate in December and, if she's in Utah, walk in April.
We were told that photography wasn't allowed, so we didn't take the good camera to the performance. During the opening announcements, they said that only flash photography wasn't allowed, so I snagged a couple of pictures with my cell phone. Next time, we'll just take the big camera and then use or not use it, depending on what's allowed.
