[NEohioPAL] Review of "Voodoo Macbeth" at Ensemble Theatre

[Bob Abelman via NEohioPAL]

Ensemble's 'Voodoo Macbeth' is missing the magic 

 

Bob Abelman

Cleveland Jewish News

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review will appear in the Cleveland Jewish News on 5/30/14

 

 

In Harlem in 1936, 20-year-old Orson Welles staged an historic production of Shakespeare's "Macbeth" as part of the government-funded Federal Theatre Project. 

 

His cast was exclusively African-American, he moved the play's setting from Scotland in the Middle Ages to Haiti in the 19th century, and the script was cut and pasted to best suit his needs.  His Macbeth was a Haitian tyrant and the element of evil that ran throughout the play was governed by voodoo mysticism rather than old-world witchcraft.

 

Ensemble Theatre, in partnership with the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, has dusted off and restaged this adaptation, now called "Voodoo Macbeth."  But it is unclear why.

 

The nontraditional casting and the re-envisioning of Shakespeare that both shocked and thrilled Depression-era audiences are now commonplace occurrences in mainstream theaters.  In this day and age, "Voodoo Macbeth" is more historical footnote and theatrical novelty than anything particularly notable or stage worthy.

 

Of the few theater companies that have opted to resurrect this play, some have embraced its radical spirit by pushing casting and context decisions in new directions.  American Century Theater in Arlington, Virginia, for example, recently set the play in the future, placed Haiti under U.S. occupation, and all the characters were white and male.  Even Lady Macbeth.  

 

The Ensemble production, co-directed by Celeste Cosentino and Tyson Douglas Rand, stays true to Welles' work, albeit on a much smaller scale.  It takes no creative risks, makes no bold choices, and is less interesting.  

 

Its attempt at innovation is limited to the use of projected images on three large upstage screens in the place of standard scenery and set pieces, but this is ineffectively executed by designer Ian Hinz.  For example, a short video of crashing surf is used as the backdrop for a much longer scene being played out on stage.  Each time the video abruptly and awkwardly loops back to its beginning, it upstages the actors and draws focus away from the storytelling.

 

Other theater companies have cleverly embellished Welles' presentation of voodoo mysticism in their renditions.  Georgia Shakespeare's recent staging transported the audience to an island of lost souls where the air was thick with Haitian drum beats and Creole accents, and the stage was filled with infringing jungle vines seeking to reclaim their territory.  Characters - particularly the three witches and those brought back from the dead - moved provocatively and with evil intent, as if under the influence of something unspeakable and otherworldly.

 

Not so with the Ensemble production, which touches on but never really taps anything particularly Haitian, otherworldly or provocative.   There are no accents.  There is no magic.

 

Jimmie Woody and Carly Germany, as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth respectively, are earnest in their pursuits but seem rudderless when attempting to merge the vibrancy of Shakespeare's words with the voodoo vibe inherent in Welles' script.  Moments of connection do happen - such as when Germany's tearful expressions of misery and hopelessness during Lady Macbeth's famous sleepwalking scene dissolve into an insane laughing jag with the witches.  But those moments are fleeting and few.    

 

Greg White as Banquo, Stephen Hood as the delightfully drunk Porter, and Joseph Primes as the evil Hecate - a character typically cut from "Macbeth" productions but which Welles retained and readily employed - manage to fight through the lethargy that dominates this production and which infects other performers.  They are a pleasure to watch.  Chinetha Hall, Emily Terry and Tina Tompkins, as the witches, are almost the sexy, dangerous or deranged voodoo princesses so desperately needed to kick-start this production.

 

In 1936, every one of the 1,223 seats in Harlem's Lafayette Theatre was sold for Welles' 64-performance run of "Macbeth."  On opening night, the lobby and entryway were so packed with patrons trying to get to their seats that the curtain didn't rise until 9:30pm and traffic was backed up for 10 blocks.  

 

It is unlikely that this mild-mannered production of "Voodoo Macbeth" will have the same appeal or the same drawing power.

 

WHAT:           "Voodoo Macbeth"

WHERE:        Ensemble Theatre, 2843 Washington Blvd. in Cleveland Hts.

WHEN:           Through June 8

TICKETS:      $12 - $22, call 216-202-0938 or visit tickets at ensemble-theatre.org 
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