It was impossible to keep my eye off of Marc Petrocci, who played one of Hamlet’s three ghosts, during the dream sequences. His cunning demeanor and sharp choreography was a thrill to watch, and he stood out from the other two of Hamlet’s ghosts.

Having already witnessed Michael Pink’s beautiful adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” this past spring, I sat in my chair on Tuesday evening hoping to witness another wonderful Shakespeare performance by the Milwaukee Ballet.

Though errors in storytelling ability abounded throughout the night’s performance, most of Stephen Mills’ adaptation of “Hamlet” was quite entertaining. Mills, artistic director of Ballet Austin, reset his choreography from “Hamlet” for the Milwaukee Ballet.

The Milwaukee Ballet’s telling of “Hamlet” was hard to follow at times because the story took place in the future. The pricey special effects used to accomplish this hindered some of the storytelling.

This was especially true in the second act during the scene of Ophelia’s funeral. Streams of garden rope pulled from different corners of the stage, separating the crowd of mourners from Hamlet and Laertes. This proved distracting enough to my eye at first glance, but having Hamlet and Laertes switch costume colors also made the scene a mess.

The futuristic style also gets in the way in the first act when Hamlet’s different ghosts appear in large, glass, robot-shaped tubes mounted to the stage. The combination of fog and strobe lights filling the tubes hid the ghost performers from the audience too much. In turn, the viewer lost some important movement and body language from these characters.

Some spot lighting placements were distracting during the show. During one sequence, Hamlet was dancing to the left of the stage and a bright spotlight was focused on an empty tube to the right side of the stage.

It was impossible to keep my eye off of Marc Petrocci, who played one of Hamlet’s three ghosts, during the dream sequences. His cunning demeanor and sharp choreography was a thrill to watch, and he stood out from the other two of Hamlet’s ghosts. Petrocci’s execution of movement was extended, long and drawn just at the right moments, and he didn’t dare miss a count. His turns and jumps were also quite impressive.

The music to “Hamlet” was also quite a treat. Phillip Glass, who is known as one of the world’s most successful art music composers, provided a haunting and dramatic score to the performance. This was perfect for the Halloween season. The music sounded like a modern action adventure with styles of tribal and folk added to the mix. Glass’ soundtrack added a lot of dramatic effect to the show.

The Milwaukee Ballet’s production team produced a creative mix of theatrical elements to portray Mill’s vision of “Hamlet.” One of the most powerful scenes came when Ophelia (played by the petite Luz San Miguel) is driven to her own death. She walks through a long, shallow pool of water on stage, turning and splashing every which way until she reaches the end.

At the end of the second act, Ophelia was shown high above the stage, hanging loosely like a wet noodle. A small amount of silver confetti fell from the ceiling above her as an added touch.

I thought the Milwaukee Ballet’s principal dancers were able to show off their superb talent during act two. David Hovhannisyan (Laertes) and Patrick Howell (Hamlet) engaged in a gripping fight scene that included breathless weight-sharing and well-choreographed kicks and punches. It seemed like it must have taken Mills and these two men countless hours of rehearsing to obtain the crisp, clear action that was presented in this sequence.

The final sword fight between Hamlet and Laertes was very gripping, and kept me at the edge of my seat. Howell’s portrayal of Hamlet’s inner struggle to stay peaceful among Ophelia’s family was brilliant. The sequence in which Hamlet let loose and killed a majority of the remaining lead characters was shocking and beautiful at the same time. Hovhannisyan was light on his feet, and the carving of his hands as he sliced and stabbed members of Ophelia’s family was very physically detailed and emotional. His arm struggled back to the ground after he slit the throat of Claudius. Hamlet then lay lifeless at the center of the stage as the curtain came to a close.

Being a fan of Milwaukee Ballet for many years, I wasn’t thrilled by the abstract theatrical elements and disorganized presentation of “Hamlet’s” plot by Mills. This is a story full of complex philosophical and ethical issues, but his ballet seemed stiff and unfinished at different sequences.

Artistic director of Milwaukee Ballet, Michael Pink, did a beautiful job of presenting Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” This is because the theatrical elements were natural, and the story was easier to follow due to the focus on characters’ emotions.

I understand that Milwaukee Ballet is trying to go into a new direction with their company, but this outing was unsuccessful in my opinion. Pink should remember the audience his ballets are speaking to.

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