It’s been three years in the making, but today the curtain opens again on the stage version of John Updike’s Hamlet prequel, Gertrude and Claudius.

As Jeffrey Borak of The Berkshire Eagle, dateline Pittsfield, Mass., writes, “Based on a novel by John Updike, Mark St. Germain’s ‘Gertrude and Claudius’ was commissioned by Orlando Shakespeare Theatre in 2016. It took three years and a grant from the Edgerton Foundation for the play to have its world premiere earlier this year in Orlando, Fla., in a production that ran from late February to late March.

“‘The rights were held up. Updike’s son, David, was helpful in getting the rights released,’ St. Germain said, explaining the delay, during a recent pre-rehearsal interview in a conference room at Barrington Stage Company’s Wolfson Center on North Street, where he was joined by BSC artistic director Julianne Boyd and Elijah Alexander and Kate MacCluggage who are playing the title couple in the Boyd-directed production of ‘Gertrude and Claudius’ which . . . officially opens Sunday afternoon at BSC’s Boyd-Quinson Mainstage, where it is scheduled to run through Aug. 3.”

“‘The relationship between Gertrude and her son is beautifully drawn’ Alexander said. ‘Claudius is a childless man, wanting to be a father.'”

“‘The stakes are high here,’ Boyd said. ‘Gertrude and Claudius are willing to risk all for sex and love.'”

“‘I think one of the questions Mark raises in the play is ‘What is love? Is it just how people feel?'” MacCluggage said.

Read the full article.

In “Barrington Stage Company Presents Mark St. Germain’s ‘Gertrude And Claudius,'” Joe Donahue, or The Roundtable (19 July 2019) writes, “‘Gertrude and Claudius’ is based on John Updike’s 2000 novel of the same title. The story shows Queen Gertrude’s relationship with Hamlet’s father, who appears only as a ghost in the Shakespeare play, and how she conspires with his brother Claudius to commit the murder that sets in motion the events of the classic drama.

“St. Germain has a long history with Barrington Stage, this being his 13th play produced by the company.”

YouTube Behind-the-scenes clips and interviews from the Barrington Stage production

As part of Bill Uhrich’s “Flashback Friday,” the Reading Eagle yesterday published an article from May 17, 1969, announcing “‘Rabbit Run’ Auditions To Begin Here.”

“Bert Remsen, executive assistant to the producer and director of the Warner Bros. production of “Rabbit Run,” announced today that auditions for supporting roles in the film will be held here Monday through Wednesday.

“Remsen, who is in charge of casting said that he will begin auditioning Monday at 10:30 a.m. in the Reading Motor Inn.

“The filming of John Updike’s novel is presently under way at Warner Bros. Burbank, Calif., studios and the company will move to Reading on June 25 to begin location shooting.”

Writing for Broadway Direct, Mark A. Robinson compiled a list of “West End Musicals We Hope Will Come to Broadway,” and had this to say about an Updike-based production:

The Witches of Eastwick—This one goes back even further than We Will Rock You, opening in the West End in 2000. The Witches of Eastwick premiered to generally good reviews and enjoyed a 15-month run, but never found its way to the Broadway stage. Dana P. Rowe provided the music and John Dempsey the book and lyrics, adapting the popular John Updike novel of the same name (and its subsequent film) to tell the story of three witches who are all in a relationship with the same devilish man. Only when they bring their powers together can they teach him the lesson he deserves. Below is a photo of the gossippy wives from the production.

In the Sunday, May 27, 2018 Guardian, Mark Brown wrote an update about Andrew Davies, “Britain’s most successful literary adaptor for television,” and his intentions for an upcoming adaptation of John Updike’s Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom novels.

As Brown writes, “The project comes with something of a mission. ‘This lazy way that people talk about him being a misogynist,’ Davies said. ‘This is something we are just going to wipe out really when they see how richly empathetic and imaginative the books are.'”

“The project raises the question of how, in the era of #MeToo, TV and filmmakers should depict behaviour which would not be acceptable now.

“The script editor Laura Lankester said there was no getting around the fact that people in the 1960s behaved the way they did, and there was a balancing act in not denying it and portraying it in an acceptable way for a contemporary audience.

“Davies said: ‘I think they behave exactly the same now, but it is kind of wrong now.’

“The 81 year old said he had the advantage of working with much younger people than himself, including a script editor on Rabbit, Run who is in her mid-20s. ‘She has had problems with some bits of Rabbit, Run and it was been very interesting to deal with all that,’ he said.

“‘We do want people, if not to love Rabbit but at least to understand him. Some of the things have been a bit difficult for young intelligent females to cope with . . . but I think his insight into both men and women is just so extraordinary.'”

No cast or time frame has been announced for the project by Davies, whose adaptation of Les Miserables will be shown on BBC later this year.

The photo of Davies is by Martin Godwin of the Guardian.