MACBETH 2022 Reviews- Page 2

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/29/22 at 4:03pm

NYT is mixed:

Review: In a New ‘Macbeth,’ Something Wonky This Way Comes

Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga star in Sam Gold’s oddly uneasy take on the Scottish play.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/29/theater/macbeth-review-broadway.html

"Still, at the end of an often brutal Broadway season that was rightly concerned with harm and heartlessness — in which many shows, including this one, were bedeviled by illness and delays — I liked Gold’s showing us that in times of distress and violence people should remember to care for one another. If it has nothing to do with “Macbeth,” it has plenty to do with us."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/29/22 at 4:04pm

NYT is mixed:

Review: In a New ‘Macbeth,’ Something Wonky This Way Comes Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga star in Sam Gold’s oddly uneasy take on the Scottish play.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/29/theater/macbeth-review-broadway.html

"Still, at the end of an often brutal Broadway season that was rightly concerned with harm and heartlessness — in which many shows, including this one, were bedeviled by illness and delays — I liked Gold’s showing us that in times of distress and violence people should remember to care for one another. If it has nothing to do with “Macbeth,” it has plenty to do with us."

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/29/22 at 4:04pm

Deadline:

‘Macbeth’ Broadway Review: Daniel Craig And Ruth Negga Take Stab At Killer Chemistry In Uneven Reign Of Shakespeare’s Ambitious Royals

https://deadline.com/2022/04/macbeth-broadway-review-daniel-craig-ruth-negga-1235011369/

Updated On: 4/29/22 at 04:04 PM

[Wick3]

Posted: 4/29/22 at 4:05pm

NY Post: 

https://nypost.com/2022/04/29/macbeth-broadway-review-daniel-craig-play-is-a-disaster/ "Daniel Craig play is a Disaster Royale"

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/29/22 at 4:06pm

Both NY Stage Review writeups are negative:

1 star:

Macbeth: Loud Sound, Intermittent Fury, Signifying Nothing

2 stars:

Macbeth: Have You Heard the One About the Scottish Play?

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/29/22 at 4:08pm

The Wrap:

‘Macbeth’ Broadway Review: Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga Reinvent a Classic Once again, Sam Gold challenges audiences with his radical take on the Bard

https://www.thewrap.com/macbeth-broadway-review-daniel-craig-ruth-negga/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/29/22 at 4:08pm

Hollywood Reporter:

Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga in ‘Macbeth’: Theater Review

Sam Gold directs this unorthodox — and unfortunate — take on the Bard's classic, also featuring Asia Kate Dillon of 'Billions.'

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/arts/daniel-craig-ruth-negga-asia-kate-dillon-macbeth-theater-review-1235137293/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/29/22 at 4:13pm

2 stars from The Telegraph:

Macbeth, review: Daniel Craig fails to shake or stir, but Ruth Negga provides a quantum of solace

2/5

You have to admire the ex-007's bravery in starring in this experimental Broadway staging, but it's Negga's Lady Macbeth who steals the show

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/macbeth-review-daniel-craig-fails-shake-stir-ruth-negga-provides/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/29/22 at 4:14pm

3 out of 5 from The Guardian:

Macbeth review – Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga soar but there’s magic missing

Sam Gold’s inventively staged take on the classic tragedy has its moments but there’s something missing at the centre

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/apr/29/macbeth-review-daniel-craig-ruth-negga

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/29/22 at 4:14pm

AMNY:

Review | ‘Macbeth’ hits Broadway with Daniel Craig and weird direction

https://www.amny.com/entertainment/broadway/review-macbeth-hits-broadway-with-daniel-craig-and-weird-direction/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/29/22 at 4:17pm

Daily Beast:

Daniel Craig’s ‘Macbeth’ Is a Modern, Bloody Broadway Puzzle, With Soup on the Side

BODY COUNT

In a convention-defying, sometimes puzzling “Macbeth” on Broadway starring Daniel Craig and an excellent Ruth Negga, the most powerful moments remain rooted in Shakespeare’s text.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/daniel-craigs-macbeth-is-a-modern-bloody-broadway-puzzle-with-soup-on-the-side

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/29/22 at 4:21pm

Uncannily, The Hollywood Reporter says almost exactly what many of us wrote here:

“Rather, it’s that this Macbeth proves so spectacularly misconceived and ineffective that you can practically hear witches cackling in the background. And I don’t mean the ones onstage.

It would be erroneous to report that the production suffers from a surfeit of bad ideas, because there are no ideas to be found. Rather, it’s as if the director had assembled his admirably diverse cast and told them to kick around some concepts and let him know what they came up with. “

Feldman’s review is a close second, despite the mystifying three stars, not matched by his dismissive words, like “anemic.”

Updated On: 4/29/22 at 04:21 PM

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/29/22 at 4:59pm

DTLI Consensus: Fair is foul, and foul is fair.

10 mixed (including the NYT), 5 negative.

https://didtheylikeit.com/shows/macbeth-2/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/29/22 at 5:34pm

NY Daily News:

THEATER REVIEW: Daniel Craig gets trapped in a ‘Macbeth’ without a clear plan

https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/broadway/ny-macbeth-broadway-review-daniel-craig-20220429-64iwlu7n7vho3nsbp5gue5eryq-story.html

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/29/22 at 7:26pm

Shaw in Vulture is mixed:

Something Distanced This Way Comes: Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga in Macbeth

https://www.vulture.com/2022/04/theater-review-daniel-craig-and-ruth-negga-in-macbeth.html

Updated On: 4/29/22 at 07:26 PM

[Mariavontrapp2]

Posted: 5/22/22 at 12:07am

Has anyone seen this recently? We are coming to NYC in June and had originally planned to make this a part of the trip, but after the reviews and reactions, I scratched it off the list - just wondering if any changes had been made to render the piece more coherent???

[Wick3]

Posted: 5/22/22 at 6:52am

I watched it a few days ago thanks to an American Express event and sadly it’s still the same.

Read the critic reviews after opening… All were either mixed or negative. I feel bad it didn’t get one overall positive review but what’s done cannot be undone.

I think most people who bought tickets did so to see Daniel Craig.

[OhBoy17]

Posted: 5/22/22 at 11:40am

I also saw it recently and don’t know that I’d call it “sadly still the same” but to each their own. I think there is some fantastic stuff happening here. Negga, Gray, Dizzia and Thornton all give really amazing performances.

Craig is fine and actually grew on me, and let’s just say his black pants deserve a special Supporting The Actor nomination.

Knowing the show was going to be Sam Gold Divisive, I went in really open minded and to my surprise got really into it.

I will say that the Act IV Malcom/Macduff scene is definitely not good, and damages the momentum of the production. I hate to fault actors but they are clearly miscast and out to sea.

So overall I liked it. I liked that it made my friends and me really dig in and talk about the show afterwards. We had some great discussion. And that, to me anyways, is one of the joys of theatre. 

Updated On: 5/22/22 at 11:40 AM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/22/22 at 11:56am

OhBoy17 said: "I will say that the Act IV Malcom/Macduff scene is definitely not good, and damages the momentum of the production. I hate to fault actors but they are clearly miscast and out to sea."

 

I agree with all of this, including the part about the actors being miscast and totally lost without sufficient direction.

However, I'll also say that the Act IV Malcolm/Macduff scene is always boring IMO. I've seen Macbeth in many, many incarnations (stage productions, films, etc.), and I pretty much ALWAYS find myself zoning out during that scene. I think the only time I really enjoyed that scene was in the recent all-female Red Bull production, where the actor playing Malcolm made some delightfully bizarre choices and basically played the scene for laughs.

 

Updated On: 5/22/22 at 11:56 AM

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 5/23/22 at 11:07am

Was out with friends yesterday, and they saw Macbeth and thought it was awful. One of them (who is a bit of a theatre newbie), I had to explain it's not the play, it's more the directorial choices. This one show almost put him off Shakespeare entirely! 

Seeing this Tony Sunday, I'm already dreading it. 

[brenway]

Posted: 5/24/22 at 1:46pm

OhBoy17 said: "I also saw it recently and don’t know that I’d call it “sadly still the same” but to each their own. I think there is some fantastic stuff happening here. Negga, Gray, Dizzia and Thornton all give really amazing performances.

Craig is fine and actually grew on me, and let’s just say his black pants deserve a special Supporting The Actor nomination.

Knowing the show was going to be Sam Gold Divisive, I went in really open minded and to my surprise got really into it.

I will say that the Act IV Malcom/Macduff scene is definitely not good, and damages the momentum of the production. I hate to fault actors but they are clearly miscast and out to sea.

So overall I liked it. I liked that it made my friends and me really dig in and talk about the show afterwards. We had some great discussion. And that, to me anyways, is one of the joys of theatre."

I saw the show this past weekend and agree with everything said here especially about the Malcolm/Macduff scene, did that bring all energy out of the room. Plus this woman was coughing a storm in the section over, so my attention any many others drifted far away. 

I really loved this production though, all the choices and staging is what a revival is about. Thought most of the acting was top notch. I couldn’t stop thinking about this show for a day or so after. This was my first real exposure to Macbeth.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 6/15/22 at 4:47pm

Random thoughts from seeing the show Tony Awards Sunday:

Came back to the city early to catch the 1PM matinee. Wish I'd stayed out of town. What a pointless sub-college black box experimental theatre iteration this was. At times I kind of got where Gold was going, and there was some chemistry between Craig and Negga, but what a colossal waste of time. 

It's probably shorter, and less repetitive, to highlight the good parts: Negga was wonderful throughout; Thornton was great, as was Eboni Flowers (on for Amber), and Grantham Coleman.

I don't know who this Asia Kate Dillon is from TV, but they are one of the worst casting decisions I've watched on stage in recent memory. I guess I'm in the minority on Coleman, but I found that away from Dillon, his Macduff lit up. Against Dillon? Well really he was just collateral damage of a performance so rushed, monotone, 8th grade-level amateur, nothing could survive.

I did find the lighting and sound pretty cool, the set design and staging at time interesting? 

Where were the anywhere near consistent accents? Was Negga doing Irish?

What fun it was to be house left and not even be able to see the witch (or sous chef) during what few scenes they were cooking up that stew. Who puts a table right up against the proscenium wall? Hello, sightlines!

I was confused a bit with Flowers one of the two others in the "out damn spot" scene? Is she always in that scene, or is it continuing Amber's track? Either way, it was confusing to see Banquo there interacting with Negga.

Even with the poor reviews, I was hopeful it would be salvageable. But when my partner, who really wanted to see it, turned to me at intermission and said, "This is baaad..." I knew it was going to be a long afternoon.

I was front mezzanine and I'd say maybe it was half full. Orchestra and balcony were very full, wonder what happened there. Maybe they heard the show ended with a stew made up of Seyton's entrails. Or whatever they were going for there.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/15/22 at 4:57pm

I saw this the other week finally (it was the only Tony nominated show I hadn’t seen yet) and while I’m not gonna say it was good, I never found myself zoning out. I think it’s just so weird, unconventional (and even bad) at so many parts that that alone held my interest.     

There’s been quite a few Shakespeare productions the past few years where I’ve either left at intermission or thought about it and that didn’t even cross my mind with this one, I was too curious to see what the hell Gold was gonna do with the end. 

[Fordham2015]

Posted: 6/15/22 at 5:28pm

I saw this on Tony Sunday. I'm in the minority in that I liked Gold's Lear a lot (was fine with all of his choices aside from the dog statues) but found some of his directorial touches here a bit odd. Still not sure the point of the soup (witches' brew, maybe?). 

I do give Gold a lot of credit for casting actors of color and actors with disabilities (Michael Patrick Thornton was especially good). In his quest to make these plays more accessible, he creates Shakespeare for people who don't like Shakespeare. I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing but understand if others disagree.

The double casting was a mixed blessing (did we need five witches?) though I loved Dizzia as a witch, doctor, and Lady Macduff. Paul Lazar also had a very funny transition from Duncan to the Porter.

Gray was out on Sunday, but her understudy Eboni Flowers was excellent. Asia Kate Dillon was an outstanding Malcolm. I appreciated the physicality of Negga's performance- her Lady Macbeth moved like water, so fluid.

Craig was the polar opposite of Denzel in the movie. The lines Denzel underplayed, Craig shouted to the rafters. Both excellent performances, but I give Denzel a slight edge.

[AC126748]

Posted: 6/17/22 at 9:49am

I saw the Wednesday matinee. Asia Kate Dillon was out; Peter Smith was on as Malcolm. I'm familiar with Smith's work through the NYC queer comedy scene, so I was interested to see them in a principal role.

While not a fiasco on the level of Gold's KING LEAR, I felt this production was essentially a series of ideas that rarely cohere, alongside some stock gestures that seemed surprisingly sophomoric (all that fog!). The performances were rarely as interesting as I'd hoped they would be -- Amber Gray, who was so distinctive in HADESTOWN and AN OCTOROON, just sort of disappears into the background here. Craig was at his best playing Macbeth's indecisiveness but simply blustery and broad in his definition of the character's downfall. Negga cut a striking figure onstage and was very comfortable with verse and meter, but I didn't sense a lot of fresh ideas in her performance. (I don't think that's entirely her fault -- the sleepwalking scene was staged rather unimaginatively.) They didn't generate much chemistry as a couple.

I think Grantham Coleman fared best among the principals, although his performance seemed suited to a more traditional production of the play. 

Sam Gold is a brilliant director of original work, but I've yet to see a revival of his where he didn't exhibit a serious misunderstanding of the material, sometimes to a shocking degree.

Updated On: 6/17/22 at 09:49 AM