'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern' by Jobsite Theater: What REALLY happened in 'Hamlet'

Marty Clear, Times Correspondent
In Print: Thursday, April 3, 2008

From their early readings of the script, it was obvious that Jobsite regulars David M. Jenkins, left, and Shawn Paonessa had the chemistry to play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
	[Brian Smallheer | Special to the Times]

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TAMPA

Before every Jobsite Theater show, someone from the company tells the audience about upcoming productions. This season, the audience burst into cheers and applause every time they heard about Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

That made director Katrina Stevenson a little uneasy.

"It was a lot of pressure," she said. "Everybody knows this play and they're coming in with preconceived notions. Or did they know the movie and think that was what the play was like?"

Her apprehensions eased when she was casting the show and saw the title roles go to Jobsite regulars David Jenkins and Shawn Paonessa.

"There were so many talented men in that room that it came down to chemistry," Stevenson said. "That's difficult in a cold reading. But (Jenkins and Paonessa) were finding their moments, even in an audition."

Stoppard's 1966 play revolves around Shakespeare's quintessential minor characters, old friends of Hamlet who are called in to help when Hamlet's behavior becomes bizarre.

Now central characters, they still find themselves restrained. They can't wander far from the action of the original play, and they can't develop significantly more intellect, personality or purpose than Shakespeare gave them.

So it's thought-provoking, but the absurdity of the characters, who can't even remember which is Rosencrantz and which is Guildenstern, and Stoppard's frenetic word play make it highly entertaining. (Many fans of the play found the humor and pacing largely amiss in the 1990 film version.)

"The play's got the deep philosophical aspect of Hamlet and Waiting for Godot," Stevenson said. "But at the same time, it's really funny."

Marty Clear is a Tampa freelance writer who specializes in performing arts. He can be reached at mclear@tampabay.rr.com.

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'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern' by Jobsite Theater: What REALLY happened in 'Hamlet'

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