[In the following review, Gates praises the Classical Theater of Harlem's production of Hamlet for its use of an outdoor, multi-leveled setting and its vivid costumes, but notes that the actors had a “less than flawless command of Shakespeare's language.”]

The Classical Theater of Harlem's Courtyard Theater on 141st Street is a very pleasant place to be on a summer night. And the two-year-old company, founded by Alfred Preisser and Christopher McElroen, makes excellent use of the space in its current production of Hamlet.

The ramparts scenes, including the first appearance of King Hamlet's Ghost (Adam Wade, who is commanding and ominous even when he isn't speaking a word), are played on the roof of the Harlem School of the Arts' two-story brick building, which surrounds the courtyard. The rest of the action takes place on a raised terrace on the main level, with a three-story-plus backdrop of lush green vines. And when Polonius (Dan Snow) is stabbed, he's concealed behind a bush, not an arras. Kimberly Glennon's costumes are colorful, inventive and character-enhancing, with a lively blend of influences from Denmark to Dahomey.

If the members of the company have a less than flawless command of Shakespeare's language, they're in good company. Most contemporary performers have difficulty pressing the word-by-word meanings home, but the poetry and the overall message of Hamlet come through.

In the title role, J. Kyle Manzay captures the attitude of the depressed and sullen young prince, home from school to mourn his father, furious with his mother, Gertrude, for having immediately married her dead husband's brother, Claudius. Gertrude and Claudius (Lanette Ware, whose beauty makes it easy to understand why a man would kill to have her, and Rome Neal, the artistic theater director of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe) can't keep their hands off each other.

Quonta Shanell Beasley plays Ophelia, the lovely young object of Hamlet's affections, as frantically insane (in much the same way Helena Bonham Carter played the role in the 1990 film version) after Hamlet rejects her. And in this production, Hamlet gets as rough with Ophelia physically as he does verbally. The production is accompanied by live drummers, who add nicely to the dramatic tension, even if they make it difficult at times to hear the actors, who are already competing with sirens, car horns and the occasional airplane overhead.