Review: MACK, BETH at Keegan Theatre

Keegan Theatre's world premiere play Mack,Beth teaches us a few things about how not to do a modern adaptation of William Shakespeare's Scottish play.

Playwright and Keegan Theatre company member Chris Stezin's attempt is set modern day and starts out on the balcony of a city high rise. It is there we meet our seductress Elizabeth Wright Macllraith (Jennifer J. Hopkins) and James Shaw (Josh Sticklin). Elizabeth (or Beth, as she is called) is married to William Macllraith or Mack (Andrew Keller). He and James work for their uncle Robert Duncan (William Aitken). Mack is what you would call a cutthroat businessman. He is always looking out for himself and will do anything to get to the top so when Beth suggests a blackmail scheme against Robert (or Dunc as he is called), Mack is all in. The devised plot involves Beth lacing a drink for Dunc and then convincing Mack and Beth's Ukrainian housekeeper Vida's (Karen Rosnizeck) fourteen-year-old daughter to participate in a sex photo scandal for $250,000 in hush money.

Disgraced by the whole thing, Doc disappears and becomes a homeless man. Meanwhile, James is starting to question what really happened to Dunc and Mack realizes that he needs to stay ahead of him to keep the top position in the company and his reputation. He enlists the help of the three young computer whizzes who hang out in the café in his building, known as the geeks (Izzy Smelkinson, Emily Cerwonka and Tyasia Velines). They point Mack to the best hacker in the business to blackmail James. You say you need more TV movie like drama? James' wife Donna (Autumn Seavey Hicks) thinks her husband is having an illicit affair with Beth, and her suspicions are raised even further after a lunch meeting. Donna takes her three daughters and drives her car off of a bridge at 115 miles an hour, but that's not where the deaths end.

After reading that plot synopsis, what is the first thing you notice? To quote comedian George Carlin, "Too much stuff." Stezin, unfortunately, tried to cram too many plotlines into the story, which resulted in the script feeling more like a soap opera than an engaging piece of theatre. The program does not list a dramaturg and the script is in desperate need of one.

While I wish I could say that the production made up for some of the script's deficiencies, it does not. Most of the acting is stilted and all one level. This surprised me considering Director Matt Ripa usually gets the best out of his cast. The biggest offender would have to be William Aitken as Robert Duncan. The character is supposed to deteriorate into a shell of his former self, but you don't see any change in Aitken's portrayal.

The same can be said for the power couple of Mack and Beth. Hopkins and Keller start off brooding and manipulative and stay that way for the whole show. As the plot thickens, the urgency of what they have done doesn't come through in their performances.

I'm still trying to figure out what accent Karin Rosnizeck was using but it definitely wasn't Ukrainian. It felt like a Natasha Badanov Pottsylvanian type of deal.

It isn't all bad news in the acting department though. Josh Sticklin and Autumn Seavey Hicks come off the best with multi-level performances. Sticklin in particular shines high in the final confrontation with Keller. Likewise, the three geeks provide us with a few welcome lighter moments that involve mentions of things like fish tacos.

The technical elements don't fare very well either. Matthew Keenan's minimalistic set really could have used some more decor to give you a better idea of locales and Katie McCreary's lighting is too dim much of the time and focuses more on lighting the set and providing mood than lighting the actors.

The only real excitement comes from the fight choreography by Casey Kaleba. It shows again why he is the most sought after fight director in the area.

All in all, Mack, Beth could have benefited from a better production and - in some cases - cast. I am all for a theatre company giving a member a chance to have his or her work seen, but you have to help nurture it to its full potential.

Out, out indeed.

Running Time: Two hours and five minutes with one intermission.

Mack, Beth runs through February 11, 2017 at the Keegan Theatre, which is located at 1742 Church Street NW, Washington, DC. For tickets, click here.

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