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Theatergoers who wish to brush up on their Shakespeare will have a dual opportunity to do just that over the next several weeks. There is a traditional production of “Hamlet” opening May 16 at the Barnes Theater on the Cal State San Bernardino campus. And it will be followed on May 17 with the musical parody “Hamlet (The Artist Formerly Known as Prince of Denmark.”) Both shows run in repertory through June 8.

Katherine Irwin, director of the “Prince” production, visits Arts and Entertainment Editor Bob Sokolsky to discuss this unusual presentation.

However, she says, the production does not differ that much from the original Hamlet.

Shakespeare, she points out, wrote his plays for the pretty rowdy audience of his era and the styling of Prince parallels what the Bard was doing.

Irwin admits her show strays a bit from Shakespeare, but only a bit, stating that “it’s still a story of a poor guy trying to do what is right in a world conspiring against him.”