>Lay on, Macduff!

>
To be honest, the production of Macbeth I saw last night at the American Shakespeare Center was not the best I’ve seen there. Maybe because it was opening night. Whatever the reason, Alvaro Mendoza (who has an impressive resume but is new to the resident troupe), wasn’t a particularly convincing Macbeth, which is a shame because he gets most of the great lines in the play. He died well, though. On the other hand, Matthew Sincell, who last season sometimes seemed lacking in confidence, was excellent as Malcolm, and Celia Madeoy (also a new member of the company) was a terrific Lady Macbeth:

Out, damned spot! out, I say!–One: two: why,
then, ’tis time to do’t.–Hell is murky!–Fie, my
lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need we
fear who knows it, when none can call our power to
account?–Yet who would have thought the old man
to have had so much blood in him.

It was an odd audience:

There must have been some kind of clan reunion going on because there were a lot of folks in plaid, including a dozen or so men wearing kilts. The show began with bagpipes . . .
The teenager sitting on one side of me read a sci-fi novel during the interludes and for most of the play stared at his hands rather than watch the action.
The guy on the other side of me kicked off his shoes.
Despite the reminder to turn off cell phones, there was a shrill ring midway through the first act.

The company is also performing The Tempest and As You Like it currently, and will add Othello in the Fall.

About the author

I am the author of three novels--THE LAST BIRD OF PARADISE, OLIVER'S TRAVELS, and THE SHAMAN OF TURTLE VALLEY--and three story collections--IN AN UNCHARTED COUNTRY, HOUSE OF THE ANCIENTS AND OTHER STORIES, and WHAT THE ZHANG BOYS KNOW, winner of the Library of Virginia Literary Award for Fiction. I am also the co-founder and former editor of Prime Number Magazine and the editor of the award-winning anthology series EVERYWHERE STORIES: SHORT FICTION FROM A SMALL PLANET.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.