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<P
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align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #302f2f"><FONT
size=3>Ensemble’s ‘Voodoo Macbeth’ is missing the magic <?xml:namespace prefix =
o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"
/><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Cleveland Jewish
News<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Member, International
Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This review will
appear in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Cleveland Jewish News
</I>on 5/30/14<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #302f2f"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #302f2f"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #302f2f"><FONT size=3>In Harlem
in 1936, 20-year-old Orson Welles<SPAN class=apple-converted-space> staged
</SPAN>an historic production of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” as part of the
government-funded Federal Theatre Project. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #302f2f"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #302f2f"><FONT size=3>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.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"><FONT
size=3><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #434343"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #302f2f"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #302f2f"><FONT size=3>Ensemble
Theatre, in partnership with the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, has dusted off
and restaged this adaptation, now called “Voodoo Macbeth.”<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But it is unclear
why.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #302f2f"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><FONT size=3>The
nontraditional casting and the re-envisioning of Shakespeare that both shocked
and thrilled Depression-era audiences are now commonplace occurrences in
mainstream theaters. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In this day
and age, “Voodoo Macbeth” is more historical footnote and theatrical novelty
than anything particularly notable or stage worthy.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black">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.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>American Century Theater in Arlington,
Virginia, for example, recently set the play in the future, placed Haiti under
</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">U.S. occupation, and all
the characters were white and male.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Even Lady Macbeth.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><FONT size=3>The
Ensemble production, co-directed by Celeste Cosentino and Tyson Douglas Rand,
stays true to Welles’ work, albeit on a much smaller scale.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It takes no creative risks, makes no
bold choices, and is less interesting.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><FONT size=3>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.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For example, a short video of crashing
surf is used as the backdrop for a much longer scene being played out on
stage.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Each time the video abruptly
and awkwardly loops back to its beginning, it upstages the actors and draws
focus away from the storytelling.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Other theater companies
have cleverly embellished Welles’ presentation of voodoo mysticism in their
renditions.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Not so with the Ensemble
production, which touches on but never really taps anything particularly
Haitian, otherworldly or provocative.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>There are no accents.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>There is no
magic.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>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.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Moments of connection do happen – such
as when Germany’s tearful expressions of <SPAN
style="BACKGROUND: white; COLOR: black">misery and hopelessness</SPAN> during
Lady Macbeth’s famous sleepwalking scene dissolve into an insane laughing jag
with the witches.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But those moments
are fleeting and few.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>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.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>They are a pleasure to watch.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>In 1936, every one of the
1,223 seats in Harlem’s Lafayette Theatre was sold for Welles’ 64-performance
run of “Macbeth.”<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>It is unlikely that this
mild-mannered production of “Voodoo Macbeth” will have the same appeal or the
same drawing power.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 13.65pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #434343"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">WHAT:<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1">
</SPAN>“Voodoo Macbeth<SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">WHERE:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Ensemble Theatre,
</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">2843
Washington Blvd. </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">in
Cleveland Hts.</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">WHEN:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1">
</SPAN>Through June 8<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">TICKETS:<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: CS"
lang=CS>$12 - $22, call</SPAN><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"
lang=CS> </SPAN><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">216-202-0938
or visit tickets@ensemble-theatre.org</SPAN><B><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Georgia','serif'; COLOR: #990000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial">
</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>