MACBETH 2022 Previews

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 3/28/22 at 12:00am

Thank God I’m not inside a theatre as I’m typing this…

The Bard is back on Broadway, as William Shakespeare’s classic Macbeth gets another revival beginning tomorrow night at the Longacre Theatre; opening night is set for April 28. Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga lead the cast as the title character and Lady Macbeth, respectively. Completing the diverse principal cast are Phillip James Brannon, Grantham Coleman, Asia Kate Dillon, Maria Dizzia, Amber Gray, Emeka Guindo, Paul Lazar, Bobbi MacKenzie, Michael Patrick Thornton, and Danny Wolohan. Sam Gold directs this revival, which is currently set to play a limited engagement through July 10.

“A tale of malice, matrimony, and murder, Macbeth tells the story of one couple’s obsession with power – and their guilt after doing the unthinkable. For 15 weeks only, this thrilling new production will capture the passion and ferocity of Shakespeare’s most haunting text like never before.”

Who’s going?

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 3/28/22 at 10:30am

Rush policy just announced:

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/MACBETH-Announces-Rush-Policy-For-Broadway-Run-20220328

[bwayplays]

Posted: 3/28/22 at 11:02am

I won't be seeing this until July but I'm excited. Looking forward to initial thoughts from other board members. 

[veronicamae]

Posted: 3/28/22 at 11:01pm

Invited dress tonight.

I will say...it is certainly unique!

I think it's worthy of some FYIs (aka trigger warnings) - putting them behind a spoiler.

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

blood, flashing lights, smoke machine, gunshot (1) and other sudden loud sounds

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/28/22 at 11:24pm

I feel like that's too be expected from a modern Shakespeare show. I can't wait to hear about the design/direction. 

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 12:11am

Did anyone go tonight? Very curious to hear initial reactions. 

[rafarosgon]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 9:45pm

At intermission. The first act was almost one and a half hour long. So far I have loved the lightning design and the music of the play.  

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 10:06pm

I'm sure some of this could be chalked up to first preview sluggishness, and it'll tighten up the runtime as the cast rehearses, but how is the first act that long? The Scottish Play is the shortest Shakespeare tragedy, it's only about 2.5 hours uncut. rafarosgon, are you able to notice any cuts they made to the text?

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 3/29/22 at 11:59pm

Any full first preview reports?

[Wick3]

Posted: 3/30/22 at 12:21am

Alex Kulak2 said: "I'm sure some of this could be chalked up to first preview sluggishness, and it'll tighten up the runtime as the cast rehearses, but how is the first act that long?The Scottish Play is the shortest Shakespeare tragedy, it's only about 2.5 hours uncut. rafarosgon, are you able to notice any cuts they made to the text?"

The theater opened at around 7:30pm and it looked like a full house so my guess is the play started late at around 8:10 or 8:15pm? I'm not sure but I do know intermission was at 9:35pm. The play finished after 11pm and I was outside the theater by 11:15pm.

Ruth Negga (Lady Macbeth) and Amber Gray (Banquo) were standouts for me.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/30/22 at 12:37am

Care to share more? Love to hear about the design/direction since... it's Shakespeare. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/30/22 at 6:06am

I would also love to hear about the design and direction.

[dshnookie]

Posted: 3/30/22 at 8:07am

Show Score has a somewhat lengthy first review 

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 3/30/22 at 9:01am

dshnookie said: "Show Score has a somewhat lengthy first review"

Copied and pasted here:

Audience abuse

See it if you crave a parody of a pretentious, derivative junior college project, (or parody of a REHEARSAL of same), headed by a movie star.

Don't see it if you take it personally when a director hates a play illuminating fascist brutality so much he seems on a mission to mock and destroy it.

Also I know this play, seen several productions, close reading at Cambridge, etc., but tonight I had no clue who was who, what they meant to each other, their objectives, what they were doing or why, or where. Nothing to inform us of anything: rehearsal furniture on a bare stage, random rehearsal clothes from Banana Republic or Express. Tho mic'd, 1/3 the dialogue is inaudible or unintelligible -- the latter often due to a directorial choice to suck the music & sense out of the text by "acting". every. word. and pausing to "act" between the lines, usually for a cheap laugh; by the end of a speech you forget how it started or what it was about. A whole lotta stage lights and practicals aimed deliberately to blind us -- including a high-beam l.e.d. lamp held close to the face in Lady M's sleep-walking scene (here a sleep-rolling-around-on-a-folding-table scene). The movie star has presence, but little sense of how to follow a character arc over what should be 2 hours but here is closer to 3.

[MasterThespian 2]

Posted: 3/30/22 at 9:26am

Ouch.

[dave1606]

Posted: 3/30/22 at 9:28am

I saw this last night and walked out at intermission. This is by far the worst thing of the season, worse than the King Lear from a few years ago that I actually stayed for.

I think the post above highlights the problems. This clearly an attempt to completely reinvent Macbeth so it doesn’t feel like Macbeth. Except that no it is not coherent in any way and we are left what looks like a high school theater dress rehearsal that Daniel Craig stumbled in.

The set consists of two folding tables and some fog machines. The “Witches” were making what I thought was tacos at the start of the play but my friend who stayed said it turned out to be a stew.

The first act ran as long as the recent Denzel movie. I can’t fault the actors but they are given nothing to work with. I'd say Ruth Negga came out the best of what I saw.  The lighting and direction are so bad its even hard to tell is speaking at times. Sam Gold is 0/2 for Broadway Shakespeare.  

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 3/30/22 at 9:39am

Oof.

[bwayplays]

Posted: 3/30/22 at 9:41am

Some thoughts on reddit: 

 https://www.reddit.com/r/Broadway/comments/trxmmp/that_was_an_interesting_experience/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Broadway/comments/trva7m/first_preview_macbeth/

[musicismylifeee]

Posted: 3/30/22 at 9:48am

what’s the set change they allude to?

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 3/30/22 at 10:01am

GlindatheGood22 said: "dshnookie said: "Show Score has a somewhat lengthy first review"

Copied and pasted here:

Audience abuse

See it if you crave a parody of a pretentious, derivative junior college project, (or parody of a REHEARSAL of same), headed by a movie star.

Don't see it if you take it personally when a director hates a play illuminating fascist brutality so much he seems on a mission to mock and destroy it.

Also I know this play, seen several productions, close reading at Cambridge, etc., but tonight I had no clue who was who, what they meant to each other, their objectives, what they were doing or why, or where. Nothing to inform us of anything: rehearsal furniture on a bare stage, random rehearsal clothes from Banana Republic or Express. Tho mic'd, 1/3 the dialogue is inaudible or unintelligible -- the latter often due to a directorial choice to suck the music & sense out of the text by "acting". every. word. and pausing to "act" between the lines, usually for a cheap laugh; by the end of a speech you forget how it started or what it was about. A whole lotta stage lights and practicals aimed deliberately to blind us -- including a high-beam l.e.d. lamp held close to the face in Lady M's sleep-walking scene (here a sleep-rolling-around-on-a-folding-table scene). The movie star has presence, but little sense of how to follow a character arc over what should be 2 hours but here is closer to 3.

"

This person gave it a 1 but gave Paradise Square and The Life 100 so...

[Lot666]

Posted: 3/30/22 at 10:28am

dave1606 said: "clearly an attempt to completely reinvent Macbeth so it doesn’t feel like Macbeth"

Do the actors speak in Shakespearian English, or in contemporary English?

 

[The Other One]

Posted: 3/30/22 at 10:31am

"Do the actors speak in Shakespearian English, or in contemporary English?"

It's in ASL, no?

[dshnookie]

Posted: 3/30/22 at 10:55am

I saw a tweet that said: At first preview of MACBETH and a man in the bathroom literally yelled, “Worst witches I have ever seen!” so you know I am loving it.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 3/30/22 at 11:00am

Nicol Williamson

Philip Anglim

F. Murray Abraham

Kelsey Grammar

Ethan Hawke

Well, Daniel.  Welcome to the club of actors who have crashed and burned playing this role on Broadway.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 3/30/22 at 11:19am

I loved Sam Gold's OTHELLO, but I'm starting to think that was a fluke in terms of Shakespeare. I even liked his GLASS MENAGERIE, but mainly because it was anchored by two dynamite actors.

The biggest problem of LEAR was that all the actors felt like they were in a different play –– an incoherent jumble of different acting styles that couldn't gel together (plus an odious score by Phillip Glass). It sounds like this might have a similar problem.

I love Ruth Negga and Daniel Craig and some of the other actors here, but I don't need another MACBETH, especially after Joel Coen's spectacular film and lingering memories of Patrick Stewart. Maybe I'll wait till the reviews come out for this one...