The bell tolls
Macbeth
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Richard Harden
North Patio of the Soldiers' and Sailors'
Equity approved showcase (closed
Review by David Mackler
Death was an unrelenting participant in Hudson Warehouse’s Macbeth, with most of the cast dressed
in the familiar hooded shroud. They
would reveal themselves as their characters, then re-shroud themselves and
remain on stage – simply there, never letting the audience forget that death
hangs over everything. Battles, sex,
ambition – death is there for all of it.
It was a great touch that added depth, to director Richard Harden’s
conception of the play.
The figures were also the witches (all nine or so of them),
but when Lady Macbeth (Danielle Quisenberry)
showed up, it was pretty clear she too was a witch – spreading magic powders as
she declares how she will be her husband’s spine, and forming creepy tableau
with the cast, everyone dressed in black and white. Quisenberry was simultaneously very sexy and
very creepy – she was an animal, psychotic, seductive, feral, and
magnificent. But she wasn’t immune to a
shift in power: when Macbeth (Tom
Demenkoff) justifies to her the impending murder of Duncan (Kelly King), she’s the one who seems
unsure. This leads to a terrific
revelation – when Macbeth is undone by seeing Banquo (a strong Don Carter), sure it’s his Lady who
takes over, but she’s no longer the powerful figure she was. She’s well on her way to being the wounded
animal she later shows herself to be when she sleepwalks.
Talking to the audience is a tricky proposition, and in
Shakespeare it can be dangerous unless it’s a comedy. Which made Demenkoff’s performance as Macbeth
even more impressive – he was an external, outward Macbeth, not an internal
worrier. It was meta-theatrical, but soliloquies
became conversations with the audience, and an interaction with an audience
member blowing out a candle after the announcement of Lady Macbeth’s demise was
surprisingly moving.
Motion was nearly constant, which was a good thing because
the action gave much meaning to the play and counterbalanced (for example) a
rather talky scene between Macduff (Len
Childers) and Malcolm (Nick de Vita),
but de Vita got better and Malcolm grew stronger when he talked specifically
about how he could retake his country.
And while Macduff and Macbeth had their final (and well-staged) sword
fight (de Vita was also the fight choreographer), it was Macbeth who in the end
offered himself to be sacrificed. It was
an overt action taken, rather than suffering a defeat. It made perfect sense.
Also with Amber Voiles as a genuine Lady Macduff, Drew Rosene, Roberto de Felice, Stephen Bittrich, Joe Hamel, Jake Demenkoff, and Joe Crow Ryan, whose pounding percussion helped toll the death knell. Alison Smith’s effective black and white costumes seemed, and rightly so for Macbeth, to drain the park of color.
Writing: 2
Directing: 2
Acting: 2
Sets: 1
Costumes: 2
Lighting/Sound: 1
Copyright 2007 David Mackler
Return to Volume Thirteen, Number Nine Index
Return to Volume Thirteen Index
Return
to Home Page