Music Theatre of Connecticut MainStage, Fairfield County’s professional award-winning theatre company continues their 36th MainStage Season with the hilarious I Hate Hamlet by Paul Rudnick. The play will introduce audiences to Andrew, a young and successful television star who relocates to New York where he rents a marvelous, gothic apartment. With his television career in limbo, the actor is offered the opportunity to play Hamlet onstage, but there’s one problem: He hates Hamlet. I Hate Hamlet will run three weekends from February 3rd – 19th, 2023 with performances on Fridays & Saturday at 8pm and Saturdays & Sundays at 2pm.

Andrew Rally seems to have it all: celebrity and acclaim from his starring role in a hit television series; a rich, beautiful girlfriend; a glamorous, devoted agent; the perfect New York apartment; and the chance to play Hamlet in Central Park. There are, however, a couple of glitches in paradise. Andrew’s series has been canceled; his girlfriend is clinging to her virginity with unyielding conviction; and he has no desire to play Hamlet. When Andrew’s agent visits him, she reminisces about her brief romance with John Barrymore, which prompts a séance to summon his ghost. From the moment Barrymore returns, Andrew’s life is no longer his own. Barrymore, fortified by champagne and ego, presses Andrew to accept the part and fulfill his actor’s destiny.

MTC and Actor’s Equity Association are committed to a safe and sanitary performance for both the audience and actors alike. In order to be inclusive of everyone’s health and safety concerns, MTC has allocated two performances of I Hate Hamlet as “Masks Required” performances. These performances will be on February 10th at 8pm and February 18th at 2pm. As the name suggests, at these performances all audience members and staff are required to wear masks while inside MTC. Actors on stage will not wear masks.