FOR THIS HAMLET, THE QUESTION IS 2 B OR NOT 2 B?

Byline: - Evan Henerson

WITH ITS LATEST Shakespeare/pop music fusion, the Troubadour Theatre Company has moved ever so slightly away from the T&A raunch of its previous ``Comedy of Aerosmith.''

That said, there's still basically no laugh that the Troubies won't troll for. That plus the ear-splitting level at which the Troubadour band drowns the Miles Playhouse means that the clowning antics of Matt Walker and company are probably best suited for adults and big kids. And for the Shakespeare-savvy, of course, who figure to get the biggest boot out of the Bard's misfortune.

``Hamlet, the Artist Formerly Known as Prince of Denmark'' contains much of the Troubies' signature mayhem: the trampoline, bad puns aplenty, cannily tweaked songs (by Prince) to help along the story of ``Hamlet,'' some very inventive choreography (by Nadine Ellis) and a very strong Troubadour band. Director Walker - playing the title role - has the best of the comic bits, while the supporting Troubies fall smoothly or goofily into step alongside him.

Less in evidence this go-round are consistently ingenious bits of mania that have made the Troubadour shows the nutso comic masterpieces they so often are. As the company works its way through the Shakespeare canon, they appear to be consistently recycling (self-consciously so) many of their own jokes - and not always to the best effect. C'mon fellas! Does the puppet with the human head really have to put in an appearance in every single flippin' show?

As an adaptation, ``Hamlet/Prince'' is as smooth a hybrid as its title suggests. There are reportedly 21 songs sung or written by Prince nestled into or around the two-hour tale. Mostly, they fit the plot, albeit with some tweaking, and the Troubadour band with backup vocal help from Lisa Valenzuela powers the whole event forward. A particular highlight, the final-duel rendition of ``I Would Die 4 U,'' is inventively set to a stageful of dancing fencers. Equally choice: Hamlet's inability to get the ``to be or not to be'' speech out without interruption.

HAMLET, THE ARTIST FORMERLY KNOWN AS PRINCE OF DENMARK - Three stars

Where: Miles Playhouse, 1130 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica.

When: 8 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday; through Aug. 28.

Tickets: $25. [phone].

In a nutshell: Always funny. Not a madcap home run.