HAMLET Gets Nineties Evangelical Makeover with Bonneville Theater Company

Bonneville Theater Company presents a new contemporary take on William Shakespeare's Hamlet, set in a 1990s evangelical charismatic Christian church.

The setting teases out parallels between the shifting spiritual landscape and new energy of the mid-90's and the theological tensions occurring in England at the time the play was written.

Alexandra Kuechler Caffall directs a cast of eleven including Tyler Caffall, Luke Forbes, Jeff Gonzalez, Lindsey Trout Hughes, Kelly King, Danielle Purdy, David Riley, Leif Steinert, and Barbara Weetman, with more to be announced shortly.

Performances will be staged at Greenwich Village's historic St. John's Lutheran Church, 81 Christopher Street in NYC 10014 from November 6-13, 2016.

Pastor Hamlet is dead. His congregation has found a replacement. His widow has taken a husband. Everyone is trying to move on. Except his son. And...there are rumors a spirit has been walking the sanctuary at night.

Bonneville Theater Company's production of Shakespeare's greatest work sees a Hamlet set in an American evangelical charismatic Christian church in the 1990s during which was born a spiritual shift, including the rise of the mega-church, the "cool" pastor, the increasing popularity in Christian rock, and the revitalization of Youth Ministries. Shakespeare's England at the time of Hamlet's writing was not without its own fluctuating theological scene, where the masses struggled to find their spiritual identity in the wake of the great Reformation which establishment of the Church of England two generations prior. These very tensions are embedded in the play as Hamlet navigates personal dilemmas surrounding theological and spiritual unease. Bonneville Theater Company turns Shakespeare's royal family into a church family. King Hamlet becomes Pastor Hamlet. Gertrude becomes a pastor's wife. And Hamlet, a man who returns home from school to find his uncle leading the congregation his father once led.

Alexandra Kuechler Caffall (director) is a Red Hook, Brooklyn based Director and Artist. Prior to New York, she worked as a resident designer at Artists Repertory Theater in Portland, Oregon. She often writes and develops her own work including Untitled Ladyplay: We hate you and it's good, Sensual Overeality, and What's Your Name Dear?: A radio play by Spranger Barry. Described as 'festive' or 'aggressively female.' her work celebrates femininity, pop-culture and generational dissonance. Her most recent credits include Chop Your Own Wood, An Enemy of the People at University of Rochester, and Assistant Directing Daniel Fish's A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again at The Public's UTR Festival as well as the remount at Walker Arts Center. She also acted as Assistant Director for Opera Omina's The Return of Ulysses at Baryshnikov Arts Center. Alexandra holds a MFA in Directing from The New School for Drama.

Tickets are $18 and can be purchased by visiting www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2640040. Eight performances will be staged daily from November 6-13, 2016 at 8pm, plus November 12th at 2pm. No performance November 10th.

Bonneville Theater Company is a performance ensemble based in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Founded by Alexandra Kuechler Caffall, Lindsey Trout Hughes, and Tyler Caffall, Bonneville uses research, collected pastiche, and nostalgia to build theatrical experiences that have been deemed altogether joyous, intimate, and innately celebratory. Of Lindsey Trout Hughes' play Chop Your Own Wood, nytheatrenow said, "Bonneville Theater creates a closeness that so much theater can only hope to achieve."

St. John's Lutheran Church celebrates and engages the long history of the church as patron of the arts, yet in a very West Village key. The original home of Tony and Tina's Wedding, this 160 year old congregation continues to welcome and encourage artists of various medium. From open mics for song writers and poets, to concert space for emerging artists and production space for young theatre companies, the sanctuary on Christopher Street is a thriving venue. The congregation also employs the arts in their worship life; such as: Art of Life- a liturgy that creates creative space is offered on the third Sunday evening of each month, and the annual Open Mic on Good Friday that enhances the observance of this solemn day. One of the oldest buildings in Greenwich Village, the federal-style building with a domed cupola is within the Greenwich Village Historic District of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. More information available at stjohnsnyc.org.

Meet the Cast:

Tyler Caffall (Hamlet) was born in Portland, Oregon; he graduated with an MFA from The New School For Drama in 2011. NY Credits: Merchant Of Venice (Public Theater), A Winter's Tale (Public Theater), Comedy Of Errors (Public Theater), Saturn (Superhero Clubhouse). Regional Credits: Porgy & Bess (Spoleto), Clybourne Park (Northern Stage), Fox On The Fairway (Northern Stage), House & Garden (Artists Rep), History Boys (Artists Rep). Tyler is a founding member of Bonneville Theater Company.
Kelly King (Claudius) is a film, television and stage actor based in New York City. His film credits include "One Life to Live" and "Boardwalk Empire." Stage credits include Romeo & Juliet, As You Like It, and The Sound of Music.
Barbara Weetman (Gertrude) graduated from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and acquired numerous stage credits living and working in Los Angeles. In 1996, she moved to Wilmington, NC to raise her son outside of Los Angeles, yet continued working professionally as an actor. She performed principle roles in many films from "The Divine Secrets of the Ya Sisterhood," "The Notebook," "A Good Old Fashioned Orgy," and "Stuck in Love" to name a few. Television credits include "One Tree Hill," "Surface," HBO's "Little Britian," and Hallmark's "Christmas in Conway." Some favorite theater roles have been Boston Marriage, Rabbit Hole, Tale of the Allergist Wife and most recently the first national Broadway tour of Nice Work if You Can Get It. She now lives in New York where she continues to work in theater, television and film.
Luke Forbes (Horatio) - TV Credits: "Atlanta"(FX), "Forever" (ABC), "Shades of Blue" (NBC), "Gotham" (Fox), "Black Box" (ABC), "Do No Harm" (NBC), "Blue Bloods" (CBS), and "I Love You But I Lied" (LMN). Luke most recently filmed "Darker Than Blue" (aka "The Colin Warner Project") and wrapped shooting a lead role in 'Marriage,' an episode of the hit A&E series "I Love You But I Lied." He performed in the world premiere production of Couriers and Contrabands at The Barrow Group Theater, and guest starred on the NBC series "Shades of Blue" starring Jennifer Lopez, which aired January 2016. In 2015, Luke performed in the world premiere of Marley--A Musical at Baltimore's Center Stage. His artistic work in the professional theater includes appearances in lead and key support roles on Broadway, Off-Broadway, regionally and underground throughout downtown NYC somewhere... literally! An excellent mover and vocaliSt. Luke was educated at Cornell and Harvard Universities.
Leif Steinert (Laertes) was educated at The Circle in the Square and earned his MFA at The New School for Drama in New York City. Stage credits include: Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, and The Seagull. TV/Film credits include: "Criminal Minds," "The Spearhead Effect" and NBC/Universal's "Haloran." He is also a faculty member of The Theater of Arts College in Hollywood, California.
Lindsey Trout Hughes (Ophelia) is a writer and actor living in Brooklyn. Favorite film credits include "Up in the Air," "Alice Upside Down" and "The Prospects." Favorite stage credits include King Lear, Three Sisters, Jessica Cohen's In Thy Bounty, and The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds. Her full-length play, Chop Your Own Wood, was chosen by Indie Theater Now as one of the best new plays to emerge from the 2015 New York International Fringe Festival. She is the author of short fiction, poetry and plays, including the forthcoming Sunshineland. She is a proud member of the Screen Actors Guild and Actors Equity Association. Lindsey holds a BA from Saint Louis University and an MFA from The New School for Drama. She is a founding member of Bonneville Theater Company.
Jeff Gonzalez (Guildenstern) - New York Theatre credits include: A Christmas Carol (The Clurman), In Fields Where They Lay (New Ohio). Regional Theatre: Inherit the Wind (Arts Center of Coastal Carolina); Macbeth, All's Well that Ends Well, King Lear, The Two Noble Kinsmen, The Three Musketeers (Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival); Our Town, The Marriage of Figaro, The Winter's Tale (Shakespeare Theatre of NJ); The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre); Lend Me a Tenor (Playhouse on Park). TV: "A Crime to Remember." Jeff received his MFA from The New School for Drama.
Danielle Purdy (Rosencrantz) studied music performance in Portland, Oregon, has a Master's in Music and Neuroscience from the University of Edinburgh, and studied last summer at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. She has just moved to New York from her home of Portland, where she worked regionally for several years. Favorite regional credits include: Circle Mirror Transformation, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, tick, tick...BOOM and Bloody Andrew Jackson.
David Riley (Marcellus) is from Southern California. NYC Theatre credits: 59E59 Theaters, The Duke on 42nd Street, The New Ohio Theater, Abrons Arts Center. Resident teacher at Roanoke College. Director and performer at NYFringe 2014 with Milkwood Theater. International work: Amsterdam's "Over Het Ij" and "De Parade" festivals. On camera credits with MTV, Disney, "Brooklyn For Real" (Vimeo best of 2015), "Adherence" (Big Apple Film Fest), multiple regional and national commercials. MFA from New School for Drama. BA in Performing Arts & Social Justice from USF. davidtriley.com

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