Here's what you can expect of the Arizona Repertory Theatre's production of Shakespeare's "Hamlet": Your jaw will drop in astonishment. Almost immediately. It is gorgeous. A beautiful, simple monochromatic set designed by Clare P. Rowe is matched by costumes that at first seem bewildering, and then seem perfect. The Bedouin-esque frocks, designed by Al Tucci and Sara Gulbrandsen, move with the players, fit the characters and flow with the language. Zachery Rosenfield's lighting design, a combination of blood red, shadows and soft blues, and a white spotlight that often followed the characters, is dramatic and underscores the action. The play is visually stunning. But here's the best part: Brent Gibbs' direction is purposeful and clean, and the acting is some of the best seen on the University of Arizona stage in some time. This production is most impressive. It's not surprising: The UA School of Theatre Arts turns out professional-level productions on a regular basis. There was reason to have some trepidation, however. "Hamlet" is Shakespeare's longest play (this production is a relatively short three hours). The title character is complex, feigns madness, struggles with a conscience, manipulates, murders and becomes consumed with revenge. If he's done correctly, we understand through each phase what he is thinking and feeling - and why. The deliciously talented Nat Cassidy played Hamlet correctly. His prince was alive with youthful passions. He played some things lighter than an older, more experienced actor might - his scene with the skull of Yorick, for instance, was more funny than it was melancholic, as it is often played. But the humor worked with this young Hamlet, and you never once doubted the character's conflicts, his loves, and his anguish over his reluctant duty to avenge his father's death. In Cassidy's hands, the Bard's rhythmic poetry, to quote the character, flowed "trippingly on the tongue." If no one else matched Cassidy's performance, the play would still be worth seeing. Happily, he didn't have to carry it alone; he had some pretty hefty help. Jonathan Brian Furedy gave an honest and earnest - but not too - portrayal of Hamlet's trusted friend, Horatio; and David Olsen, who delivered some of the play's most famous lines as Polonius ("To thine own self be true," and "Neither a borrower nor a lender be" among them), had a terrific sense of timing and managed to scoop up some of the heartiest laughs of Monday's preview performance. Also, Dane Corrigan's Claudius, Hamlet's uncle and the man who killed Hamlet's father and married his mother, laced some empathy into a pretty unlikable character; and Lezlee Benninger as Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, made her character's torment palpable. Some of the smaller roles didn't come up to the level of the lead players - there was a bit of Acting going on; this is a student production, after all. But no one pulled this production down. It moved quickly, with exciting, heartfelt clarity. Exactly how we we want Shakespeare to play.