MACBETH
Welcome Thane of Cawdor!
All that Macbeth needed to hear proving he will be King
There’s a reason why Macbeth is constantly performed. Other than being a great story—murder, power, spots being damned— it’s also the only play that deals with the supernatural. Here, anything goes. It’s not human error it’s all about the spirits doing their worse and mere mortals staying to survive. It’s the Witches, aka The Weird Sisters, that begin this macabre story with their ominous prediction of Macbeth (Lo Lundeen is excellent) soon being king of Scotland.
FIRST WITCH: All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!
SECOND WITCH: All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!
THIRD WITCH: All hail, Macbeth, which shalt be king hereafter!
These bitches got serious power over the clueless mortals. It’s part of the Weird Sisters plans. All they do is plant the seed and watch, from a clear instance, the carnage that soon follows. One Sister in particular, who loves been an immortal, is Witch number 1, (Kaila Tacazon). They is so much fun to watch. They enjoys scaring the men with them lethal words. Tacazon runs all around the place. Lady Macbeth (Kendyl Grbac owns this role) is another person with power issues and she’s not afraid to use it. After all, she did finish the job that her husband could not. After killing, she hungers for more power. She even advises her worried looking husband on strategic moves to complete the goal. Grbac does Lady Macbeth proud. Her thirst for more of anything and everything knows no bound. Remember, it was she who finished off Duncan and relished that victorious moment. She would make an excellent fourth Weird sister.
When magical realism interacts with reality that result is explosive. Macbeth’s already fragile mind desecrates further into madness. It’s kind of like when your mother is pissed off, the energy of the peaceful home suddenly switches to a chaotic one looking for a way out. Macbeth’s home is infected with darkness. They even says so in one of them profound speeches. They state that “life is a tale/ Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / signifying nothing.” They knows what’s going on is wrong but continues to fulfill the dreadful prophecy. It doesn’t help that only they sees the spirit of Banquo (Adrián Genesius Barrόn says little but definitely makes his presence known) whom they had killed. Banquo, covered in bloody, tattered clothes and his throat slit, breathes in a loud whisper. Macbeth stares and curses the spirit away. They are looking crazy among the people around them.
Lundeen does a wonderful job as the blood thirsty soon-to-be-king Macbeth. They showed both a balance of good and evil before turning completely to the dark side. Grbac is great, in a morbid way, as Macbeth’s partner-in-crime. They rely on each other even in death. Right in time for Halloween, actually one night before, ghost, spirits and murder. This show provides it all and doesn’t disappoint.
Macbeth plays this Friday and Saturday night at 8 p.m. and ends Sunday the 30th at 7 p.m., at the Hudson Theatre located at 6539 Santa Monica Blvd in Los Angeles. Tickets are $20. Log-on to www.onstage411.com. Running time 2 hours and 20 min – one intermission. Proof of full vaccination plus booster required for entry. Masks must be worn over the nose and mouth at all times in the theater.
