Who would disagree that William Shakespeare covered just about every aspect of human experience and emotion? On Oct. 11, the Hudson Shakespeare Company set out to prove the point with “The Infernal Kingdom,” a Shakespearian tour of Dante’s Inferno that set select scenes from various Shakespeare works in each of Dante’s circles of hell. The event, staged at the historic Harsimus Cemetery, was billed as a different kind of Halloween hayride.
Dante’s work “The Divine Comedy” is considered a masterpiece of political and social satire, a literary device Dante used to denigrate some of the most powerful religious and political leaders of his age. In his work, he placed these prominent characters in circles of hell as punishment for various vices.
Shakespeare’s plays have no shortage of their own satire, and much of his subject matter dealt with characters in the midst of moral and political crises. The plays often delve deep into the emotional implications of choices characters make.
So guests who were led by “The Infernal Kingdom” through the cemetery experienced both irony and pathos, while characters – often with bloody daggers and hands – struggled to deal with various vices, set against the backdrop of one of the state’s most historic graveyards.
Characters clash
Led by Ariel (played by Maggie Lailey), about two dozen people toured the Harsimus grounds. Although each character spoke from the particular play they were central to, the mixture worked so that the characters seemed to talk to each other.
Ariel, described as “a tricksy spirit,” lived up to her reputation as she prepared the guests for each level of hell, where characters recited famous passages not related to each other, but still expressed the theme of each level of hell.
Starting in limbo, Ariel conversed briefly with Prospero (played by Steven Makropolus) before he was taken off and murdered by a mob.
On Friday, Oct. 31 from 5 to 10 p.m., the cemetery will host ‘Tales from the Crypts’ a candle light inter-active ghost walk through the historic cemetery.
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As they moved along the slate paths of the Harsimus Cemetery, Ariel brought the visitors to the circle of the gluttonous, where Titus (Francine Tychuaco), the resident pie-maker served Falstaff (DePinto) small cakes and a severed hand.
That seemed like a particularly apt circle for Hudson County, since Falstaff is a notorious character in Shakespeare’s history plays, a man hungry not merely for food but for political power.
The tour worked through each circle of Dante’s Hell as members of the Hudson Shakespeare Company played the roles of characters appropriate to each circle, depicting the vain King Richard II (Thomas Burns Scully) and the Oberon (Scot Cahoon), the king of the fairies in the circle punishing greed. The circle of the wrathful and sullen brought Lady Macbeth (Ali Viterbi) and Goneril (Linda Elizabeth) together complete with bloodied hands and very pointed dagger.
Tied back to back on a grave monument, Eleanor (Francine Tychuaco) compared notes with fellow heretic, Joan of Arc (Alexandra Gray), while King Richard III (Cahoon) and Henry V (Sarah Charles) suffered for their crimes against humanity in the circle of the violent.
In Dante’s hell, fraud and treachery were considered more grievous crimes than the violent sort. So Volumnia (Stacy D’Arc) and Leontes (Makropoulos) suffered for the deceptive advice they gave, while Iago (Gray) who betrayed Othello, and Brutus, who betrayed Caesar, suffered in the ninth circle of hell.
More to come
The production was a bit of a departure for the Hudson Shakespeare Company, which was founded in 1992 under another name by L. Robert Johnson in order to present Shakespeare’s plays to people who live on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. The group routinely does Shakespeare in the parks in and beyond Hudson County, but has performed at Harsimus Cemetery a number of times, to help to raise money for the upkeep of the historic Jersey City landmark.
“We’re all volunteers here,” said Eileen Markenstein, volunteer director, citing a number of pending expenses that include the huge bill the group must pay for repair of the gate house roof.
Although some may have missed this event, several other Halloween events are scheduled for Harsimus Cemetery located at 435 Newark Ave.
On Saturday, Oct. 25 from 2 to 10 p.m. the cemetery will host “The Annual Ghost of Uncle Joe Masquerade Rockn’ Roll Ball,” a full day of Halloween fun, live music, food, refreshment tours, tricks and treats.
On Friday, Oct. 31 from 5 to 10 p.m., the cemetery will host “Tales from the Crypts,” a candle light inter-active ghost walk through the historic cemetery. There will also be a Pumpkin-land for the little ones with Pumpkin Decorating contests, costumed characters for photos as well as refreshments.
A $10 donation is requested for each event with all proceeds to go to benefit the Roof Replacement Project for the Veterans, who live onsite.
For more information about the cemetery call (201) 707-0738. For more information about Hudson Shakespeare Company call (973) 449-7443 or visit www.hudsonshakespeare.org.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.