I have loved Ethan Hawke since he so charmingly sparred with Winona Ryder in Reality Bites. So I went into the Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center the other night to see him in the titular role of Macbeth with high hopes.
Well, I wasn’t completely disappointed.
The production, under the direction of director Jack O’Brien, is visually arresting. There are tableaux, rather than scenes. For instance, the feast Lady Macbeth serves to her guests toward the end of the play looks like Rembrandt might have painted it. It is beautifully lit, and its very painterly-ness adds a layer of artifice to the already artificial scene.
The witches are used in multiple roles, lending a foreboding to even the banal of scenes, as when the porter (an always excellent John Glover) talks of how too much wine ignites the desire but douses the ability. In a scene which usually serves as comic relief, the use of one of the witches in the part turns the scene darkly ironic.
The costumes are beautiful – studs and leather on the warriors, gossamer light golden capes on Lady Macbeth.
But you’ll notice that other than John Glover, I’ve yet to mention anyone’s performance. And that, in a play that is so much about character – is a problem.
There’s a lot of stage business that – to (mis)quote the play itself – seems to be signifying nothing, but only making sound and fury. Gongs and bird calls abound. Laughably dramatic chords ring out in key scenes – as if we need to an aural cue, pounding in our ears “this is big! Audience, pay attention.”
And therein lies the problem. The show is full of…busy-ness. Lots of running, and multi-media, and odd make up, and and and. But what there isn’t a lot of us are great performances. The actors mumble. They whisper. Consonants, it seems, are optional for many of them.
No one seems to be at the helm of this show. Unless you count the witches. And if they’re the focus of the play – well, I’m all about new interpretations of classic works…but really?
Not that it’s bad…it’s not. But it’s Macbeth. It’s Macbeth at Lincoln Center. It’s Macbeth at Lincoln Center with Ethan Hawke, and Brian D’arcy James and Malcolm Gets and Byron Jennings. It’s shouldn’t be “not bad,” it should be glorious.
Instead, it’s confusing, beautiful at times, funny when it shouldn’t be, and overall, disappointing.
Ah, well. My idea of Ethan Hawke as Macbeth – in Macbeth, just didn’t live up to the reality.
Reality, I guess, bites.
Tickets are available for Macbeth here. The show runs through January 12th.
Disclosure: We were provided with complimentary tickets to review the show but all opinions are the author’s point-of-view.
About the author: Nancy Friedman is a co-founder of Kidzvuz.com, a video website for kids 7-12. She writes about parenting, aging, and all things NYC on her own blog, From Hip to Housewife.
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