Review: Desert Stages Theatre Presents MACBETH

I've seen my fair share of interpretations of William Shakespeare's MACBETH, enough to temper my expectations when another company ventures forth ambitiously to mount a reprise. And yet, for as many portrayals as there have been of the power hungry Thane, his fiendish wife, the noble Macduff, and the rest of the characters, I still look forward to, if not yearn, for a surprise on stage, a nuanced performance that unlocks some heretofore unexamined aspect of their motives and intentions.

While Gary Zaro's tightly staged and well-paced production of the play, which opened at Desert Stages Theatre last Friday, did not quench my thirst for originality and nuance, I was nevertheless impressed with the effort, enough to recommend that folks secure their seats before the run ends on June 4th. It is, at the very least, an energetic enterprise and a valuable opportunity to reconnect with the story about the shameless lust for power and the casualties in its wake.

On the smaller of DST's two stages, there is scant room for pageantry or complex blocking. However, there is instead a valuable opportunity for the actors to leverage the intimate setting and, close up to the audience, to convey the subtle transformations of mood and purpose and to embrace Shakespeare's lines with the carefully calibrated rhythms and force they deserve. While the principals, led by Rick Davis and Virginia Olivieri, and featuring a muscular and convincing performance by Bryan Stewart as Macduff, infuse their roles with appropriate intensity, they miss the opportunity to exploit the advantage.

The audience may understand objectively Macbeth's sprouting ambition upon hearing the Witches' prophecy of his imminent rise to power, his ascent to paranoia and murder, his grief over Lady Macbeth's death. The audience may comprehend objectively Lady Macbeth's guile and sinister nature, her inner torment, and ultimate descent to madness. But beyond the audience's objective understanding, the fulfillment of the play lies in the actors' ability to evolve their characters, to modulate, to shade their lines, to employ a subtle grimace or gesture as a conveyance of emotion. In this regard, the production falls short of its potential but deserves an A for effort.

Photo credit to Desert Stages Theatre