Hamlet

B or not a B?

Omelet, Prince of Dinner

Hamlet is a tragedy written by playwright William Shakespeare. The play, set in Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father, the King, and then taken the throne and married Gertrude, Hamlet's mother. The play vividly charts the course of real and feigned madness -- from overwhelming grief to seething rage -- and explores themes of treachery, revenge, incest, and moral corruption.

References to Hamlet

The Muppet Show

• The Muppet Show episode 418 features a scene in which Gonzo was supposed to play Hamlet, but he sprained his nose. Kermit asks Christopher Reeve to step in, and the sketch ends with a rendition of "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" from Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate. The sketch also features a Muppet version of Hamlet’s Yorick.

• At the end of "On a Slow Boat to China" on episode 524 of The Muppet Show, Roger Moore tells Miss Piggy that he and Annie Sue are going to see Hamlet.

• The Muppet Show episode 323 features The Swedish Chef's interpretation of Hamlet.

• In episode 121, Uncle Deadly mentions that he is famous for his interpretation of Hamlet.

• In the last backstage scene of episode 107, Kermit says to Miss Piggy in exasperation "I am not your frog!" Rather than being angry or offended, Miss Piggy responds in apparent denial "Methinks thou dost protest too much," a paraphrasing of Queen Gertrude's line in Act 3, Scene 2: "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

Sesame Street

• When Mel Gibson appeared on Sesame Street, he played Hamlet in a Monsterpiece Theatre sketch.

• Patrick Stewart, a well known Shakespearean actor, appeared on Sesame Street dressed in Elizabethan garb and performed a spoof of Hamlet's "Soliloquy", here titled "B or not a B." During this sketch, Steward gazes at a three-dimensional model of the letter B while holding it in one hand, a reference to Hamlet's Yorick soliloquy.

• In Episode 883 of Plaza Sésamo, Pancho and Elefancio appear in Federico Pelini's new film. Pancho hams it up by holding an apple (in place of the skull) and recites a Spanish interpretation of the "To be or not to be" soliloquy.

• Season 37 (2006) of Sesame Street featured a Dinner Theatre sketch titled, "Omelet, Prince of Dinner".

• In Elmo's World: Pets, the Lecture Lady recites Shakespeare's famous passage from the play.

Other

• In a 1963 sketch on The Jimmy Dean Show, Rowlf demonstrates his acting skills by reciting "To be or not to be!" He claims that the line was written by William Shakespeare's dog.

• Animal spoofed Shakespeare's Hamlet in an installment of Animal Theatre on Muppets.com.

• In "Fozzie's Story," the second issue of The Muppet Show Comic Book, Fozzie turns to Shakespeare's comedies for inspiration after flopping with a cheesy set of jokes. Dressed as a jester, Fozzie starts to tell the one about the man of England, the man of Ireland, and the wretched leper (replete with Elizabethan-style language) but is foiled when a skull drops from the ceiling and scares him offstage. Gonzo later addresses the skull romantically as Yorick.

• Kermit, Prince of Denmark was to be a spoof of the famous work.

• Link Hogthrob dresses as "Hamlet" for William Shakespeare's birthday in the The Muppet Show Diary 1979.

• John Stone played Hamlet in a production that took place in The Muppet Theatre as told in the book The Phantom of the Muppet Theater.

Connections

• Richard Attenborough played the English Ambassador in Kenneth Branagh's film.

• Paul Bartel appeared in Ethan Hawke's film version.

• Alan Bates played Claudius in Mel Gibson's film version.

• Simon Russell Beale played the second gravedigger in Kenneth Branagh's 1996 film.

• Grant Bowler toured in a Bell Shakespeare Company version of the show, playing both Marcellus and Fortinbras in 1992 and Laertes in 1993.

• Kenneth Branagh directed and starred in a 1996 all-star feature film version.

• Roscoe Lee Browne played Polonius in the 2000 Hallmark TV version.

• Aaron Cash has appeared in Hamlet on stage.

• Reece Dinsdale played Guildenstern in Kenneth Branagh's version.

• Vernon Dobtcheff played Reynaldo in the Mel Gibson film version.

• Ken Dodd appeared as Yorrick in Kenneth Branagh's film version.

• Robert Eddison was noted for his performance of Hamlet at the Old Vic in London.

• Tara Fitzgerald played Ophelia opposite Ralph Fiennes in Hamlet on stage.

• Björn Gustafson appeared in a 1955 television version of the play.

• Derek Jacobi played Claudius in Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet.

• Christopher Lee appeared unbilled as a spear carrier in Laurence Olivier's Hamlet film.

• Kyle MacLachlan played Claudius in the 2000 film version.

• Joseph O'Conor played Polonius at the Old Vic in London, on Broadway, and on early television.

• Eren Ozker played Ophelia in a National Theater Company tour of the show.

• Pete Postlethwaite appeared in Mel Gibson's film version as the player king.

• Nick Powell was a stunt coordinator for Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet.

• Rufus Sewell played Fortinbras in Kenneth Branagh's film version.

• Kai Taschner dubbed Billy Crystal in a film version.

• Fritz Weaver has played on stage.

• Steve Zahn played fratboy Rosencrantz in a 2000 version of the play.

See Also

• William Shakespeare
• Patrick Stewart