[NEohioPAL] Berko review: "Voodo Macbeth" misses its performance mark at Ensemble

[Roy Berko via NEohioPAL]

*“Voodoo Macbeth” misses its performance mark at Ensemble*

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle)

During the great depression of the 1930s the U. S. government attempted to
stir up the economy by creating various works projects.  One of the
organizations developed was the Federal Theatre Project.  It hired
directors, actors and technicians to produce theatrical productions that
charged low to no-cost for admission.  Many of these were new scripts, and
employed out-of-work and emerging artists to participate in the shows.

Popular theatrical names that emerged from the FTP included Arthur Miller,
John Houseman and Elia Kazan.  Also emerging was a young Orson Welles,
whose “Voodoo Macbeth” is considered one of the movements most important
works.

Wells’ script and production was part of a FTP’s African American Project,
which had a unit in Cleveland.  AAP provided entry paths into the theatre
for black actors and stagehands, and attempted to raise community pride
among blacks for not only creating contemporary works, but classics.

In 1936, Wells used an all black cast to transfer Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,”
from medieval Scotland to a fictional Caribbean island, probably Haiti,
noted for its witchcraft and voodoo-believing population.

The show was not only a box-office sensation, but is regarded as a classic
due to its innovative interpretation.  It secured for Wells, at age 20, an
early place on the list of theatrical geniuses.

The exchanging of Scotland for Haiti was accomplished by making the
“bubble, bubble, toil and trouble witches” into voodoo conjurers and
changing the queen of the witches into a bullwhip-snapping medicine doctor.


Much of the Shakespearean cast appears in Wells’  play.  Macbeth, commits
murder to become king and fulfill his wife’s ambition for power.  There is
Lady MacBeth, who has blood on her hands that she can’t wash off.  There is
the rest of the royal extended family who get killed or eventually become
the new royalty.  The play retains its reputation as the tragedy of
tragedies!

Wells’ production became a sensation not only due to the creative script,
but due to the quality of the performances.  It takes amazing actors to
develop the complex roles of “Voodoo MacBeth.”

Unfortunately, except for Carly Germany, who portrays Lady Macbeth, the
cast tries hard, but isn’t completely capable of conveying the depth of
Shakespeare’s characterizations.  It’s not totally their fault.  The
material is just too deep and taxing for less than the most skilled of
actors to portray.

The Ensemble production has some performance highlights besides
Germany’s.  Stephen
D. Hood gets laughs as the Porter.  Kyle Carthens (Macduff) , Leonard Goff
(Duncan), Robert Hunter (Malcolm), Joseph Primes (Hecate) and Jimmie Woody
(Macbeth) have some good moments.

Some of the “voodoo” elements are missing due to the lack of Caribbean
sing-song accents, and confusing costuming and makeup.  Some of the
projections, a technique which Ensemble has adopted as their main means of
scenery in most of their recent productions, also is island inconsistent
and sometimes size-overwhelming.

*Capsule judgment:  “Voodoo Macbeth,” a production of Ensemble Theatre in
collaboration with The Cleveland Shakespeare Festival is an ambitious
project of a historically important theatrical script.  The play requires a
level of acting that is beyond the training and talent of most of  the
cast, thus the experience is less than it could have been.  *

“Voodoo Macbeth” runs Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays (8 PM) and Sundays (2
PM) through June 8, 2014, at Ensemble Theatre, housed in the Coventry
Building, 2843 Washington Blvd, Cleveland Heights.  For tickets call
216-321-2930 or go online to http://www.ensemble-theatre.org



To read the views of other Cleveland area theatre reviewers go to:
clevelandtheaterreviews.com <http://www.clevelandtheaterreviews.com>
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