January 31, 2011|By Kerry Reid, special to the Tribune
Fair is foul and foul is fair, but David H. Bell's truncated take on "the Scottish play" does a pretty fair job of capturing the essential dualities of Shakespeare's shortest tragedy in this Chicago Shakespeare youth-oriented offering.
Nothing in "Short Shakespeare! Macbeth," Bell's adaptation for the younger set (which he also directs), feels dumbed down, including the scurrilous jokes of the porter. Because "Macbeth" isn't exactly a yuk-fest to start with, it's probably a good thing that Bernard Balbot gets to cut loose with the double-entendres (though I'm not sure how many landed with the school-age audience with whom I viewed the show). They seemed to enjoy the down-and-dirty fight scenes and the "Stomp"-like percussive sound effects, led by composer/drummer Ethan Deppe. And though the show has to work around the set for the main stage offering of "As You Like It," the Forest of Arden makes a fittingly ominous stand-in for Birnam Wood.
Lesley Bevan's sharp-tongued Lady Macbeth is definitely in the driver's seat here; she even slaps her husband when he expresses doubts about slaying Duncan. And just as Banquo (Mike McNamara) notes that Macbeth has achieved everything "the weird women promised," she, rather than the trio of witches, appears behind her husband to place the ill-gotten crown on his head. The cuts in the text make it difficult to fully see the moment when Mark L. Montgomery's thane of Cawdor decides to let bloody ambition trump honor, but the overall post-industrial feel of the show has an edgy "Sons of Anarchy" vibe to it, right down to the black denim-and-leather togs designed by Ana Kuzmanic.
Bell has clever fun with the double casting. A couple of soldiers slain in battle at the top of the show are almost immediately resurrected to assist Dorcas Sowunmi's Sorceress-in-Chief as two of the witches. And Sowunmi also does fine double duty as the wholly innocent (and hence doomed) Lady Macduff.
Not all the relationships achieve clarity — in particular, Nicholas Harazin's Malcolm doesn't register in his musings to Patrick Sarb's Macduff about his own yearnings for the dark side. But the tragic consequences of unchecked lust for power come through with enough intensity to satisfy both those encountering the play for the first time and those who would like a quick and intelligent reminder of its grim allure.
When: Through March 5
Where: Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier
Running time: 75 minutes
Tickets: $16-$20 at 312-595-5600 or chicagoshakes.com