[NEohioPAL] "Actors' Summit Succeeds" review of Macbeth in Beacon Journal

[Thackaberr at aol.com]

'Macbeth' brewing with evil at Actors' Summit  
Shakespearean  tragedy finds new resonance in Hudson as 'really good creep 
fest'  
By  Kerry Clawson 
Beacon Journal  
Published  on Tuesday, Feb  26, 2008  
An eerily thrilling tone pervades  Actors' Summit's Macbeth, from the opening 
percussive chorus that the  whole cast creates to the play's final moments, 
as the three sinister witches  beckon a new young king offstage.  
Director Neil Thackaberry and musical  director Daniel Taylor have created a 
remarkably dramatic opening, with Sally  Groth playing a harmonium before the 
whole cast moves into a percussive segment  with the help of drums, walking 
staffs and other tools, punctuated by battle  cries to introduce Scotland at 
war.  
In this Shakespearean tragedy, the war  hero Macbeth is favored by King 
Duncan. Then Macbeth hears a prophecy of what he  believes to be his royal destiny 
from three witches, sending him on a  supernatural course toward destruction.  
As Macbeth, Thackaberry has such a  gloomy intensity from the start, we see 
how this nobleman's dark nature emerges  so quickly that he is unable to 
control his ''black and deep desires.''   
It's also a treat to see Thackaberry  star opposite wife MaryJo Alexander as 
Lady Macbeth. She's a fiendishly sexy  queen, clad in a low-cut black dress 
with just the right sparkle and red satin  lining to suggest royalty. This 
couple's passionate kisses fit in with Lady  Macbeth challenging her husband's 
manliness as she pushes him toward  bloodthirsty deeds.  
The men wear a lot of loose tunics with  belts in this play. Later, a short, 
shiny green jacket on Young Siward (John  Galbraith) looks surprisingly 
incongruous — more fit for a Vegas act than a  battle scene.  
In Macbeth, Shakespeare's  shortest tragedy, the director's goal was to hold 
the audience's interest while  creating ''some really good poetry.'' Actors' 
Summit succeeds on both counts  with this production, which features the 
largest cast of its season.   
Terry Burgler, co-founder of the Ohio  Shakespeare Festival, offers one of 
the play's few scenes of levity as Macbeth's  clownish, hungover porter. Most of 
the actors do well with Shakespeare's  rhythms, making the text 
understandable while keeping up a quick pace.   
This murder, mayhem and stage fighting  will be enjoyed by more than adult 
audiences: With the help of a GAR Foundation  grant, Macbeth also will be 
presented in five school performances.   
Alexander has described the show as a  ''really good creep fest,'' which 
includes Banquo's gruesome ghost (Geoffrey  Darling) at the dinner table. The only 
goofy gore comes at the end, when a  fake-looking decapitated head is 
presented on a stick.   
Throughout this production, nothing  could be more chilling than the three 
witches, frighteningly brought to life by  Groth, Rachel Anderson and Jocelyn 
Roueiheb. Their eerie intonations and hand  movements are spooky, but their 
ghastly opaque masks look nightmarish. As  Macbeth becomes unhinged, the trickery 
of these witches becomes apparent.   
Even when they're not in witches' masks,  these three actresses look on 
solemnly during much of the play's action,  reminding one of the three Fates.  
Alexander's Lady Macbeth is more  believably ruthless than Macbeth himself, 
who shows remorse for the carnage he  is inflicting but is incapable of 
stopping: ''I am in blood stepped in so far  that, should I wade no more, returning 
were as tedious as go o'er,'' he says.   
Director Thackaberry has even  interpolated the three witches into the end of 
the play as they swarm the new  king. Perhaps he's making a statement about 
all of our dark natures, implying  that even the new ''good guy'' may not 
remain immune to blind ambition and blood  lust. 
  
____________________________________

Staff writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at _kclawson at thebeaconjournal.com_ 
(mailto:kclawson at thebeaconjournal.com) .   
An eerily thrilling tone pervades  Actors' Summit's Macbeth, from the opening 
percussive chorus that the  whole cast creates to the play's final moments, 
as the three sinister witches  beckon a new young king offstage. 
Director Neil Thackaberry and  musical director Daniel Taylor have created a 
remarkably dramatic opening, with  Sally Groth playing a harmonium before the 
whole cast moves into a percussive  segment with the help of drums, walking 
staffs and other tools, punctuated by  battle cries to introduce Scotland at 
war. 
In this Shakespearean tragedy, the  war hero Macbeth is favored by King 
Duncan. Then Macbeth hears a prophecy of  what he believes to be his royal destiny 
from three witches, sending him on a  supernatural course toward destruction. 
As Macbeth, Thackaberry has such a  gloomy intensity from the start, we see 
how this nobleman's dark nature emerges  so quickly that he is unable to 
control his ''black and deep  desires.'' 
It's also a treat to see Thackaberry  star opposite wife MaryJo Alexander as 
Lady Macbeth. She's a fiendishly sexy  queen, clad in a low-cut black dress 
with just the right sparkle and red satin  lining to suggest royalty. This 
couple's passionate kisses fit in with Lady  Macbeth challenging her husband's 
manliness as she pushes him toward  bloodthirsty deeds. 
The men wear a lot of loose tunics  with belts in this play. Later, a short, 
shiny green jacket on Young Siward  (John Galbraith) looks surprisingly 
incongruous — more fit for a Vegas act than  a battle scene. 
In Macbeth, Shakespeare's  shortest tragedy, the director's goal was to hold 
the audience's interest while  creating ''some really good poetry.'' Actors' 
Summit succeeds on both counts  with this production, which features the 
largest cast of its  season. 
Terry Burgler, co-founder of the  Ohio Shakespeare Festival, offers one of 
the play's few scenes of levity as  Macbeth's clownish, hungover porter. Most of 
the actors do well with  Shakespeare's rhythms, making the text 
understandable while keeping up a quick  pace. 
This murder, mayhem and stage  fighting will be enjoyed by more than adult 
audiences: With the help of a GAR  Foundation grant, Macbeth also will be 
presented in five school  performances. 
Alexander has described the show as  a ''really good creep fest,'' which 
includes Banquo's gruesome ghost (Geoffrey  Darling) at the dinner table. The only 
goofy gore comes at the end, when a  fake-looking decapitated head is 
presented on a stick. 
Throughout this production, nothing  could be more chilling than the three 
witches, frighteningly brought to life by  Groth, Rachel Anderson and Jocelyn 
Roueiheb. Their eerie intonations and hand  movements are spooky, but their 
ghastly opaque masks look nightmarish. As  Macbeth becomes unhinged, the trickery 
of these witches becomes  apparent. 
Even when they're not in witches'  masks, these three actresses look on 
solemnly during much of the play's action,  reminding one of the three Fates. 
Alexander's Lady Macbeth is more  believably ruthless than Macbeth himself, 
who shows remorse for the carnage he  is inflicting but is incapable of 
stopping: ''I am in blood stepped in so far  that, should I wade no more, returning 
were as tedious as go o'er,'' he  says. 
Director Thackaberry has even  interpolated the three witches into the end of 
the play as they swarm the new  king. Perhaps he's making a statement about 
all of our dark natures, implying  that even the new ''good guy'' may not 
remain immune to blind ambition and blood  lust. 
Staff writer Kerry Clawson may be  reached at _kclawson at thebeaconjournal.com_ 
(mailto:kclawson at thebeaconjournal.com) .



**************Ideas to please picky eaters. Watch video on AOL Living.      
(http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-duffy/
2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598)
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