Theater Review: ‘Bernhardt/Hamlet’

Theresa Rebeck is a gutsy playwright. In writing about Sarah Bernhardt’s quest to play Hamlet in 1897, she created a nearly impossible challenge for herself, seeking an actress who could live up to Bernhardt’s iconic status as the greatest actress alive. Rebeck did get lucky, casting the incomparable Janet McTeer, but while topically resonant, “Bernhardt/Hamlet” is dramatically inert.

Mixing fact and fiction, Rebeck taps into our contemporary feminist leanings, detailing Bernhardt’s determination to take on the role of Shakespeare’s most famous protagonist. 19th Century society wasn’t ready for a woman — no matter how great an actress — to play a man.