LA TheatreWorks: MacBeth

by William Shakespeare (performed by LA TheatreWorks)

 

 

 

The Scottish Play

I have been in love with this play since fifth grade. Miss Weil was new to the faculty in a school where the whole faculty seemed to have been moved in with the furniture when the school was built in 1898. She loved Shakespeare and she introduced her students to the bard. Our 5th grade play was a very pared down production of MacBeth --in iambic pentameter. The first real production I ever saw was the Maurice Evans/Judith Anderson production which played as a special feature in the movie theater near our house; I was in junior high. Since then, I have seen a number of different productions including the Patrick Stewart production on TV (too much angry shouting and not enough finesse), the Kelsey Grammar touring production (meh) and a local repertory company production just a few years ago (not their best Shakespeare production). I'm still looking for another production that matches the Evans/Anderson.

I just listened to the Los Angeles Theatre Works production of MacBeth (cast and crews given below). In the 1990s, LATW made the move from live stage performances to audio recordings along with radio-theatre style live performances . At this point, they have over 500 plays in their catalog of recordings -- classics, new voices, etc.

This is one the better productions I have heard. It is not perfect. A lot of dialogue has been cut and it moves along quickly, with no staging to deal with. It isn't the angry spitting of Patrick Stewart, thank goodness, nor the spineless Kelsey Grammar production. James Marsters was masterful; his MacBeth was as cold as ice -- much more calculating and threatening than Grammar or Stewart. I was not fighting to make out the words as I do for many stage productions these days. All of the actors were crystal clear, no RADA/RS cultivated accents that seem to be the hallmark of modern productions (even in the US) --which is really a laugh since Shakespearean-era English probably sounded more like American than it did like today's British accent.

With over 500 titles to choose from, it is definitely time to check out more LATW.

Credits:

Recorded at The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood, in May of 2011.

Adapted and directed for radio by: Martin Jarvis

Producing Director: Susan Albert Loewenberg

An L.A. Theatre Works Full-Cast Performance Featuring:

Josh Cooke as Banquo and others

JD Cullum as Macduff and Second Murderer

Dan Donohue as Ross

Jeannie Elias as Second Witch and others

Chuma Hunter-Gault as Lennox and Servant

James Marsters as Macbeth

Jon Matthews as Malcolm

Alan Shearman as Angus and others

André Sogliuzzo as Donalbain, Third Witch, and others

Kate Steele as Lady Macduff, First Witch, and Apparition

Kristoffer Tabori as Duncan and others

Joanne Whalley as Lady Macbeth

Associate Producers: Anna Lyse Erikson, Myke Weiskopf

Recording Engineer/Sound Designer/Editor: Mark Holden for The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood

Sound Effects Artist: Tony Palermo