By JK Clarke . . .
Does Sam Gold hate Shakespeare? I found myself wondering that as I watched his latest deconstructed, minimalist hatchet job as director of one of the Bard’s most beloved plays—the bloody Scottish tragedy, Macbeth. Don’t get me wrong, I have no objection to directors or theater companies that take liberties or, of necessity, create sparse productions of Shakespeare’s plays. They can be enlightening, and doing so frequently frees a small company from the often prohibitive expenses of costumes and sets. (So long as they don’t attempt to add anything to these masterful works, I’m okay with experimentation—that is verboten, in my book, and we’ll get back to that later.) But on Broadway, where budget generally doesn’t hold back a director’s imagination, minimalism and the sort of collegiate tear-down that Gold has made of this Macbeth (and has a habit of doing with many of his productions, such as the poorly received King Lear, starring Glenda Jackson in 2019) is not just a missed opportunity, but a slap in the face to theatergoers who drop hundreds of dollars for a night of theater with family or friends. In baseball it would be the equivalent of a low scoring game with bad pitching—very little bang for a lot of bucks. Broadway promises spectacle—but aside from some decent stunt-casting and a lot of stage blood, this Macbeth—playing at the Longacre Theatre through July 10—offers none.
However, it’s not a total loss. What the production has going for it is several great performances which nearly rescue the staging shortfalls. Craig, of course, delivers as Macbeth. He could have been better. He’s an outstanding actor and it’s a pleasure to watch him perform, but some of the famous lines that are supposed to give you chills merely leave you cold (the “Is this a dagger” speech wasn’t terribly sharp, and the “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” lines are flat). Ruth Negga does a capable job as Lady Macbeth—but again, as evidenced by her terrific performance as Hamlet at St. Ann’s Warehouse in 2020, she can do much, much more. I particularly liked seeing the delightful Paul Lazar (whom movie buffs might recognize as one of the entomologists from The Silence of the Lambs) as an awkward and buffoonish King Duncan and an appropriately hilarious Porter. Another noteworthy performance comes from Grantham Coleman as Macduff, whose pain is so palpable we nearly cry with him when he’s informed his entire family has been murdered by Macbeth: “What, all my pretty chickens, and their dam/At one fell swoop?”
Yet, all these fine performances simply cannot make up for the lack of show, and certainly not for a couple unforgivable moments:
Following a battle that would’ve been more at home in a WWF wrestling ring than in the Scottish highlands, Craig, as Macbeth, cracks open a cold beer—whose brand imagery is instantly recognizable to most and for whom I won’t shill. My initial reaction was that it was a pathetic gag. Upon reflection, I now realize that Gold and the producers have done the unthinkable: they’ve used product placement (to wit: a commercial!) in a Shakespeare play! Whether or not this was actually sponsored the opportunistic desecration of classic theater is nothing short of repugnant.
And then there’s the song that’s been added to the end of the play. While the song might be fine in its own right, it has no place in Shakespeare. Ordinarily, as the murdered king’s son Malcolm (played without emotion or affect by Asia Kate Dillon from TV’s “Billions”) is crowned at the play’s end, the new King gives a tender, unifying speech that assures us (and King James I, the play’s original audience) that all will be well in the realm. It’s an ideal closing speech that tidily wraps everything up. But here, Gold has tacked on this contemporary song that adds nothing except audacity. Shakespeare, as has been proven for over 400 years of productions, does not require augmentation.
When you consider what might have been—a Macbeth with awe-inspiring sets and transportive costumes, the full complement of Broadway tricks that make ordinary productions extraordinary—particularly with top notch talent like Craig and Negga leading the way, you can only think of the missed opportunity. Especially when you reflect on someone who’s never seen a Shakespeare play—or certainly not one produced on a professional stage—and how they might have been inspired or enthralled by a production that took them into an entirely different realm of appreciation and understanding of Shakespeare’s majesty and mastery of language and storytelling. Some new-to-Shakespeare theatergoers might conclude that perhaps this type of theater just isn’t for them. And that’s a shame and it’s something that Sam Gold could and should have avoided. There are other great directors out there who truly love the Bard and give his plays the respect they deserve. Give one of them the reins for the next big Broadway Shakespeare production. Or don’t bother at all.
Macbeth. Through July 10 at the Longacre Theatre (220 West 48th Street, between Eighth Avenue and Broadway).Two hours 30 minutes, with one intermission. www.macbethbroadway.com
Photos: Joan Marcus
