Review: MACBETH Unleashed by the Creative Mind of Michael Keith Allen at the Art of Acting Studio

The brilliantly creative mind of Michael Keith Allen has worked wonders with a new re-telling of Shakespeare's MACBETH at the Art of Acting Studio by setting the tragedy in a postmodern Scotland where street thugs battle for leadership as well as territory, while cutting the run time to 90 minutes and allowing the actors to speak without heavy accents, making it easy to understand the dialogue and follow the plot and character development. It is definitely the best rendition of the classic I have ever seen.

Emmy winner Daniel Kucan stars as a very muscular Macbeth, self-choreographing his own battle scenes highlighting his lithe and intricate body movements in perfectly timed coordination with drum and cymbal crashes from above by Alex Dupuis. The blows never really hit and blood is depicted with bits of red cloth, yet the inherent violence is raw and ever-present, not to mention totally attention-getting.

The gradual madness of Lady Macbeth, as portrayed by Melelani Satsuma the night I attended, is put into motion by the three Witches (Holly Sidell, Carolina Moraga, and Lindsay Zana, all in little black dresses) who hover around invisible to most characters throughout the play, motioning them like puppets at their beck and call. The first hint of her downward spiral is depicted by one of the witches pointing a red laser light, whist hits her hands and body in a physical depiction of her "out damned spot" speech.

The dominant-submissive sexual relationship between Lady Macbeth and her robust husband will certainly catch your attention, there push me-pull you gratification on display as she weaves him into her destructive web. Kucan and Satsuma have just the right chemistry to make the scene appear to be so real, you will almost feel the steam streaming from their pores.

The supporting cast of players has their street cred on full display with their individual struts and friendships fully developed and easy to understand with the different color ribbons displayed on their shirts, identifying each as to which side of the battle is theirs. Costumer Paula Gallucci is to be commended for such an easy modern addition, as well as her creative royal crowns certainly reminiscent of another crown of thorns. And will certainly chuckle when the good doctor (Herb Mendelsohn) who looks after Macbeth is seen surreptitiously dealing drugs to one of the king's followers from his little black bag.

Michael Keith Allen has designed many very intricate sets for past productions around Los Angeles, but this time he has designed a simple multi-level set that does not draw attention away from the actors or the story, and allows for the amazing hand-to-hand and dagger-to-dagger combat to have free reign to cover as much territory as possible. There is also a very nice touch at the beginning when the witches enter unseen and meet up under a blanket-like cover under which they bubble and brew like the caldron they will later dance around to cast their spells, all done with pantomime by the three talented actresses.

Don't let your fear of Shakespeare hold you back from seeing this inventive production of the Scottish play!

MACBETH by William Shakespeare is presented by The Harold Clurman Lab Theater, the professional wing of the Art of Acting Studio Los Angeles, directed by Ovation - nominated actor and designer, Michael Keith Allen, through July 11, 2015 at The Art of Acting Studio is located at 1017 North Orange Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90038.

Remaining performances are on Wednesday July 1, 2015 at 8pm, Thursday, July 2, 2015 at 8pm, Wednesday, July 8, 2015 at 8pm, Thursday, July 9, 2015 at 8pm, Friday, July 10, 2015 at 8pm and Saturday, July 11, 2015 at 8pm. All shows offer a "pay what you can" ticket structure in an effort to make theater-going accessible to patrons of all income levels. Pay-what-you-can tickets are available only on the day of the performance with the box office opening one hour prior to curtain time. Or you can make an $18 advance reservation to guarantee that you see the show on a certain date by visiting www.artofactingstudio.com.

Photos by Cecilia Kim