By David Gordan

To celebrate the 59th Annual Shakespeare Festival and the 50th Anniversary of the John Cranford Adams Playhouse, the Department of Drama and Dance has chosen to revive that old warhorse called “Hamlet.” Guest director Gus Kaikkonen has staged the piece, written in the early 1600s by little-known playwright William Shakespeare. “Hamlet” is the story of a prince avenging his father’s death at the hand of his brother, who has usurped the throne. Audiences today recognize this plot under a different title, “The Lion King.”

Running just a drop under three hours, Kaikkonen’s production, for the most part, doesn’t feel that long. This is thanks to his energetic staging and some remarkable performances from the talented members of the Drama Department.

After the suspicious death of King Hamlet, his brother, Claudius (Jeremy Benson), quickly marries his widow, Gertrude (Christa Jackson), and usurps the throne. The ghost of King Hamlet (the haunting Patrick Marran) appears to his and Gertrude’s son, Prince Hamlet (Benjamin Pike), revealing that he has been murdered by Claudius. Not entirely believing the ghost’s words (well, who would?), Hamlet hires an acting troop to stage a play which will reenact the murder. At the moment of revelation, Claudius runs out of the room. Hamlet’s mind is made up: Claudius has to die. And Hamlet will stop at nothing to achieve his goal.

Longstanding questions are raised by the story. Is Hamlet mentally ill, or is it just his ambition that’s making his behavior so erratic? Well, watching the triumphant and tireless Benjamin Pike in the title role, there’s no doubt that Hamlet is, for all intents and purposes, 110 percent insane. His very expressive eyes show complete madness, and he follows through on his take, not shying away from making risky choices, from start to finish.

Pike is given ample support on the recreated stage of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. Jeremy Benson owns the stage from the moment he speaks. Christa Jackson shines in fear as Hamlet threatens her life, opting to murder Claudius’ chief counselor, Polonius (Jordan Hue, who nails every single comic line in a perfect, deadpan drone). Bethany McNamara (Polonius’ daughter, Ophelia) brings a modern inflection to her lines, which, at points, seems out of sync with the rest of the cast. However, it works well (and she has a pretty singing voice) during her “mad” scene in the second act. Steven Spera, Rich Traub, and Kyle Cheng provide solid back-up as Horatio, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, respectively.

James Hart’s spare set sits nicely on the recreated Globe and David Henderson’s costumes are eye-catching. Matt Rubin’s lighting is sumptuous and quite attractive. But it’s Robert Westley’s fight choreography (with assistance from Travis Youssef) that steals the show. So realistic, in fact, that the woman seated next to me at points gasped and shielded her eyes.

I will admit that I wasn’t well-versed with “Hamlet” prior to seeing the show, so I was very surprised to realize how humorous the play actually is. Director Kaikkonen and dramaturge Maureen McFeely have managed to bring out the best in the material (read: it wasn’t a slog to get through) and keep the audience engaged (read: they weren’t bored). This is the fourth production of “Hamlet” that has been performed at the Shakespeare Festival, 50 years since it inaugurated the Playhouse and its recreated Globe. This production, I’m happy to report, is quite worthy of that honor.

“Hamlet” performs Friday and Saturday, March 14 and 15, at 8 PM, with a closing matinee on Sunday, March 16 at 2 PM.

(Rychard Curtiss)