The actor Sarah Bernhardt was a legend in turn-of-the-century Europe and America. She had a panther for a pet, she accidentally killed a crocodile by feeding it too much champagne and she traveled with a coffin. But she also had real power. She owned and operated a 1,700-seat theater and she chose her own roles.

One of those roles, famously, was the Shakepearean character Hamlet. Scandolously — she wore pants.

Theresa Rebeck's dramady "Bernhardt/Hamlet" attempts a portrait of the artist through rehearsals of "Hamlet." At times, Bernhardt doubts her ability to perform the character — who hasn't, when faced with that part? But that's just one of her many internal and external battles. She thinks Shakespeare chose the wrong words. She fights against critics who believe she shouldn't attempt it because she's a woman. She worries if she fails, her theater might fail (history spoiler alert — it didn't). She wants her married lover to leave his wife and children. Any of these might be enough to sustain a play, but the way Rebeck strings them together makes this almost two-and-a-half-hour production feel too slight.

Theater nerds will be gratified by the extended backstage wrangling over how Shakespeare's lines should be delivered. And everyone will likely find pleasure in Beowulf Borritt's detailed sets, including Edison bulb footlights, and Toni Leslie-James' eloquent costumes. But most are likely to be frustrated with the drama's muddy story and emphasis on low-hanging fruit (who is going to disagree, in 2018, with a woman going for her dream?).

And yet, the play is saved — by the stunning actor Janet McTeer. 

McTeer brings Bernhardt to vibrant, boisterous life. She shows off her character's commanding stage presence (and narcissism), but also her winning vulnerability. Her liquid voice and her telling gestures makes us understand why Bernhardt was known as the Divine Sarah. And so when McTeer gives a crowd-pleasing speech late in the second act about how playing ingenues is beneath her, beneath all women, the sentiment isn't that exciting. But the acting is.

Bernhardt/Hamlet by Theresa Rebeck, directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel at Roundabout's American Airlines Theatre through Nov. 11.