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Keegan-Michael Key will play Horatio to Oscar Isaac's Hamlet at the Public Theater this June. Let us see, forsooth, how they doth compare.
CHARACTER’S BEST LINE:
Isaac: Musing on his recent depression, Hamlet exclaims: “What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! / How infinite in faculty!”
Key: Horatio cradles the dying Hamlet in his arms at the end of the tragedy and tells his dear friend: “Good night, sweet prince: / And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!”
CLOSEST HE’S COME TO WEARING TIGHTS:
Isaac: For Shakespeare in the Park in 2007, Isaac was a dreamy, guitar-strumming Romeo. No tights, just rumpled khakis.
Key: The classically trained actor lampooned the racist side of Elizabethan theater in a Key & Peele skit. The pair woreth legit hose and ruff, verily!
CHANCE OF BECOMING A ROCK STAR:
Isaac: For the past 12 years, the singer-songwriter has performed in ska-punk and indie-rock bands. Search for “The NightLab” on YouTube.
Key: Key appeared (with Jordan Peele) in Weird Al Yankovic’s music video for “White & Nerdy” as a gangsta freaked out by Yankovic’s whiteness.
HOTNESS QUOTIENT:
Isaac: Isaac was hailed as “the internet’s boyfriend” by Rolling Stone.
Key: Key made People’s Sexiest Men Alive list in 2016.
THE WINNER:
Isaac: He’s heroic, soulful…and those eyes! But this smackdown requires a ruthless improviser like Key.
Key: Key has the range, the comedy and the pipes. Plus, he actually, you know, survives the play.
Hamlet plays at the Public Theater June 20–Sept 3.
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