Hamlet at Carpenter Performing Arts Center

Without a doubt the most famous play in the English language, Hamlet is much more than a collection of quotable lines, like the legendary soliloquy that begins with "To be or not to be?" It's also a thrilling tale of political intrigue, murder, madness and duels to the death. Hamlet is one of theater's greatest anti-heroes, caught between his duty as a son and his desire for moral purity. He's haunted by the rage-filled ghost of his father, who won't rest until his untimely death is avenged. Even worse, every time Hamlet hesitates to take action, it's his friends and loved ones that pay the price. The New Yorker calls Aquila Theatre Company's Shakespeare productions "beautifully spoken, dramatically revealing and crystalline in effect," so you won't want to miss this latest one at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach.