"Macbeth" at the Guthrie

I saw the Guthrie Theater's production of "Macbeth" a few weeks ago, and it was quite impressive. I've read "Macbeth" before, I think in both high school and college, but for whatever reason, I had never seen it on stage before. The Guthrie chose to present it without an intermission, which made for an intense experience. With a running time of two hours, it definitely makes sense, because the play is so compact and thrilling, but it's so bloody that the tension level just goes up and up until finally, mercifully, the play is over.

"Macbeth" is quite a fascinating play. Does Macbeth have free will over what happens, or is he doomed by the witches' prophecy that he will become king? There's no easy answer to this question. Macbeth could simply wait and see if somehow he will become king without killing Duncan, the current king. Macbeth even alludes to this, saying, "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir." (Act 1, Scene 3) But then he and Lady Macbeth decide to go ahead with their evil plan and slay Duncan as he sleeps in their castle. It could be that the witches merely plant the idea of becoming king in Macbeth's head, that they tap into the latent ambition that is already inside of him. Reading the introduction to my handy Bantam Classics edition of "Macbeth," editors David Bevington and David Scott Kastan say something similar. Bevington and Kastan remind us that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have discussed killing Duncan before, thus "the witches appear after the thought, not before." Furthermore, "Elizabethans would probably understand that evil spirits such as witches appear when summoned, whether by our conscious or unconscious minds." According to this reading, Macbeth's murderous thoughts summon up agents of evil, which in turn strengthen his ambition to become king, whatever the costs. And since the witches say that Macbeth is to be king, who is he to argue with them?

In a way, "Macbeth" reminds me of "Oedipus Rex." Both characters are faced with a prophecy. The prophecy that Oedipus hears is that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus's reaction is to run as far away from the prophecy as he can, but he unwittingly fulfills it. Macbeth, on the other hand, runs as fast as he can towards the prophecy that he will be king, and, of course, fulfills it. The problem is that both men do not know how to interpret the prophecies. After Macbeth is king, he is told by the witches that he cannot be killed by a man "of woman born." Macbeth then becomes full of hubris, blind to the fact that there might be a loophole. (The loophole is Macduff, who was "from his mother's womb untimely ripped.") Does hearing the prophecy change Macbeth's actions, or would he have acted in the same way even if he didn't know of the prophecy? Perhaps the prophecies just bring to the surface the evil that lurks under Macbeth's surface.

The Guthrie's production was quite good, with a number of striking visual tableaux that seemed very cinematic to me. The blood on Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's hands in the murder scene was disturbing, it made me nearly sick to my stomach. It made the murders seem much more real. The acting was fine, with a particularly good performance from Michelle O'Neill as Lady Macbeth. Erik Heger was good as Macbeth, but he didn't bring a lot of charm or personality to the role. There is a wonderful quote from a poem, "The Cup," by Alfred, Lord Tennyson that was included in the program:

"I heard a saying in Egypt, that ambition

Is like the sea wave, which the more you drink,

The more you thirst-yea-drink too much, as men

Have done on rafts of wreck-it drives you mad."

What fitting lines for this strange and terrifying play.

4 Plays in One Week!

As you might be able to guess from the title, I have just seen four plays in one week! It's been a busy week, but I love the theater, so I'm happy to get caught up a little bit. Here are some thoughts on all four shows:

"A Chorus Line," Orpheum Theater-Despite billboards telling me otherwise, "A Chorus Line" is NOT the "Best Musical. Ever." In fact, I wouldn't even put it in my top five or ten. It's decent, but honestly, it's really dated, and all the characters are really pretty shallow sketches. The songs are good but not great, although "One" was stuck in my head for hours afterwards! Argh! The singing and dancing were both really good, though. The only other time I saw "A Chorus Line" was on a choir trip when I was in 7th grade, and wow, it was shocking then! She just said "tits" on stage!!! Can they do that??? In 2009, it's definitely lost any power to shock or surprise, but it's difficult for anything to have the same impact nearly 35 years later. Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

"Singin' in the Rain," Ordway Center for the Performing Arts-A stage version of the classic film. Amazing! This might actually be the best musical ever, despite the fact that the songs used in the film were just old ones that they threw together. (With some new songs.) Seeing the movie in Rice Park in downtown St. Paul a couple of weeks ago definitely whet my appetite for this show! The movie was one of my favorites as a little kid, and I hadn't seen it in a long time. It's just so euphoric and giddy and fun! Of course, it's impossible to find anyone to top Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor, but Michael Gruber and Tony Vierling did a fine job. I had a blast seeing one of my all-time favorite movies live on stage! Rating: 5 stars out of 5.

"Caroline, or Change," Guthrie Theater-Part of the Guthrie's all Tony Kushner Spring and Summer, this Tony-winning musical features a tour de force performance from Greta Oglesby in the title role. Caroline is an African-American maid in Louisiana in 1963, and the play deals with her relationship with the Jewish family for whom she works. The whole production was so well done, my only quibble is with a piece of history. Part of the action of the play takes place on November 22, 1963, the day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated. In the play, the characters don't hear about the assassination until the evening. That would not have happened, as Kennedy was pronounced dead at 1PM. And since Caroline listens to the radio all day long, she would have been hearing news bulletins all afternoon. Likewise, grade-schooler Noah Gellman would have most likely been sent home for the day around lunchtime, instead of hearing the news late at night. I know I'm picking on this point a bit, but as a history buff, it was a glaring error. But other than that, it was a really great show. And one of my favorite actors, Bradley Greenwald, got to show off his clarinet-miming chops as Noah's father. (Bradley has a fantastic voice, but he didn't get to use it a lot in this show.) Oh, and I saw Tony Kushner in the Guthrie gift shop before the play! I probably wouldn't have recognized him except for the fact that I had just seen his picture about 5 times on my way from the rush line to the gift shop. Rating: 5 stars out of 5.

"Shipwrecked! An Entertainment-The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told By Himself)" Jungle Theater-I just saw this last night, and it was a terrific show! It tells the story of Louis de Rougemont, who thrilled Victorian England with his tales of being shipwrecked and spending 30 years living amongst Aborigines off the coast of Australia. But was de Rougemont telling the truth? I won't spoil it for you, sometimes we need a little imagination. The play is by Donald Margulies, who won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Michael Booth gives a great performance as de Rougemont. He reminded me a little of Peter O'Toole, in his ability to keep you hanging on every word, whether it's true or not. The supporting performances surround Booth with a daffy lunacy, as 3 actors play all the remaining parts. Stephen Cartmell stole the show as Bruno the dog, de Rougemont's faithful companion. It's an incredibly funny performance. Cartmell also reduced me to giddy laughter as a wombat expert, and I think I might find just the word "wombat" funny for the next week or two. "Shipwrecked!" is a fantastic show about the power of stories. Rating: 5 stars out of 5.