Strife • Princes
Donalbain (Brando Cutts) and Malcom
(Kyle Robert Kopp) listen with father
King Duncan (Bart Shattuck) as Nobleman
Angus (Eduardo Mora) describes the
battle scenes where Macbeth earns his
glory. Richard Ulibarri / Long Beach
Shakespeare Company
Long Beach troupe delivers chilling performance of ‘MacBeth’
Jamie Rowe
Online Forty-Niner
Editor in Chief
The clash of metal against metal; a woman’s shrieks; a man loses his head
thanks to pride. It all sounds like the newest action movie to hit theaters,
but it’s actually the Long Beach Shakespeare Company’s latest production, “The
Tragedy of MacBeth.”
For those of you who don’t care for Shakespeare, let me explain the basic
plot line. The play opens while Scotland is in the middle of civil strife. King
Duncan and his generals are battling to squash the rebellion. MacBeth, a general,
meets three witches who tell him he will someday be thane of Cawdor and King
of Scotland.
He and fellow general Banquo laugh it off until one of the king’s messengers
tells him he is the newly appointed thane of Cawdor. He tells his wife who convinces
him to kill Duncan while he is staying in their castle. Then he goes mad thinking
everyone knows what he has done.
Between the beautifully choreographed sword fights, brilliant acting and amazing
costuming, Shakespeare would be proud.
Fight Coordinator Dan Forcey recently finished working on a film with Clint Eastwood
in New Zealand before coming to Long Beach to help the company, said Artistic
Director Helen Borgers.
The greatest credit to his name is the final fight between MacDuff and MacBeth.
Thinking he cannot be killed by anyone, thanks to another of the witches’ prophecies,
MacBeth invited MacDuff to stab him, even pulls his sword into him. This is when
MacBeth realizes his mistake and the two men really begin to fight.
The two bandy about the front section of the stage, which is also where the front
row sits, exchanging blows, jabs and kicks. In one shocking moment, MacBeth jumps
onto MacDuff and bites him.
Aside from a few minor slip-ups, the acting in this production is as professional
as I’ve ever seen. Brian Koehler as MacBeth plays a man driven to insanity
by lust for power as if it’s second nature. Nina J. Silver really pulls
Lady MacBeth together and shows her as the power-hungry, controlling wife who
sets the murder plot into motion.
I was really impressed with Brando Cutts as the porter. Although he plays a multitude
of characters, his delivery of a sexual innuendo-filled speech of the effects
of wine brings in a breath of comic relief.
One of the best performances of the night was Vanessa Rivero’s heart-wrenching
scene where she screams as three of MacBeth’s murderers for-hire kill her
child in front of her then carry her off to rape and kill her.
Although the make up of the apparitions pulled from the witches’ cauldron
were well done, the best costuming and make up was that of Banquo, who appears
as a ghost after MacBeth has him killed and his body left in a ditch. His entrance
onto the stage dressed in blood-soaked, tattered clothing drew gasps of shock
from the audience.
“
MacBeth” runs until April 1. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday
at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. For more information, visit www.lbshakespeare.org.
|
