Hamlet
Voted Best Leading Actor in a Play by BroadwayWorld SC 2014 "Visual and conceptual wizardry aside, Hamlet succeeds or fails based on its lead actor, and James Costello unquestionably succeeds. While there is plenty of action and a few scary thrills, his soliloquies explore timeless themes and thoughts on the human condition. Just as Hamlet advises the visiting Players to do, he speaks every word naturally, allowing the audience to understand the tricky 400-year-old vocabulary and sentence structure. Particularly effective are his reactions after seeing the Players perform, and later viewing a vast army marching in the distance; both scenes can seem long and extraneous, but here they become vital, as each represents the passion and vitality that Hamlet longs for." |
"And, finally, we come to the title character. Second year MFA student James Costello is the most talented USC student actor I have seen since Demetrios Troy. One has few opportunities to play Hamlet, but you would have to look to James Earl Jones’ King Lear or Ralph Fiennes’ Coriolanus to find an actor pour more energy and intent into a role. Costello’s Prince of Denmark, more Mel Gibson than Kenneth Branagh, also is reminiscent of Brad Pitt’s Jeffrey Goines inTwelve Monkeys: one minute lucid, then instantly flipping to apoplectic possession at the hands of the Scarecrow-Sock Monkey Ghost. Whether comically turning a book into a flying birdie or grappling in blood sport chains with Laertes, Costello has complete control of the Panopticon—the mark of any successful Hamlet, and well worth the price of admission itself." |
Arcadia
"James Costello also shows great versatility as his character Dull is not so, showing crack comic timing in an antic with Bender that still has me chuckling to myself." |
Love's Labour's Lost
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Reviews
Hamlet
Arcadia
The 39 Steps
Love's Labour's Lost