By JAMES D. WATTS JR. Scene Writer on Sep 12, 2010, at 8:34 AM Updated on 9/12 at 8:34 AM
Courtneay Sanders and Chris Crawford in "Macbeth"
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The full review -- well, I hope the full review, things do get trimmed from time to time -- of the Playhouse Tulsa's production of "Macbeth" is scheduled to appear in Monday's Tulsa World.
However, if the four of you who regularly read this blog are in the mood to see a play this afternoon ("Macbeth" will be performed 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 12, at the Tulsa PAC), here's something to consider:
"The effect this 'Macbeth' has on its audience — at least, to judge by the reaction of those at Friday’s opening night performance at the Tulsa PAC — is stunning. And that effect is probably very much like the one produced when the play was first presented on the Globe Theatre stage sometime around 1605.
"Shakespeare took what was a relatively familiar story to his audience and turned it completely inside out to tell a story of ambition, madness and murder — how even a supposedly good and heroic person can be lured into committing the most heinous acts of evil in the pursuit of, and to maintain one’s hold on, power. And it’s full of incidents that were designed to make even the rowdiest orange-sucking groundling be gobsmacked into silence.
"Playhouse’s production, directed by Chris Crawford, achieves something similar, because this show never takes the easy way out of presenting the humanity and the horror at the heart of this story.
"Most of the violent deaths in the show — and “Macbeth” is one of Shakespeare’s gorier tragedies — happen on stage, in full view of the audience, and are properly brutal, messy and shocking.
"The supernatural elements — the play is also chock full of ghosts — employ some simple and some complex stage effects that are creepily effective. The whole scene when the ghost of Banquo first appears is a powerhouse moment that we’ll just let you experience rather than describe.
"Best of all, the main characters in this drama are portrayed as genuinely complex and real human beings, so that every character’s death — even those of the nominative villains — seems a tragic waste."
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