On tonight's all new Law & Order, the episode ended with Jack McCoy, Sam Waterston's character, remarking, "I'm too old to play Hamlet." To the uninformed, that may sound like a typical line in the script, but understanding the background reveals an inside joke.
Early in his career, Waterston played the title role in Shakespeare in the Park's rendition of Hamlet. This year, Shakespeare in the Park once again performed the same play. Again, Waterston played a leading role - but in 2008 he was too old to play Hamlet, so he instead starred as Polonius.
This summer, Wife and I had the privilage of watching Waterston's memorable performance, where we learned that Waterston may be too old to play Hamlet, but he's still more than capable being the star of the show.
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