Theater review: Bare stages promising production of ‘Macbeth’

There’s a tradition when producing Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” that one must refer to it only as “the Scottish play” to avoid disaster. Someone with Bare Theatre must have slipped up, because the company’s outdoor staging has had its troubles.

Last week’s final dress rehearsal and two performances were rained out, the string of thunderstorms ending in time for only a single performance. This week’s schedule is further threatened, as proved Thursday night with a storm shutting down the performance after an hour.

This review reports on director Rebecca Blum’s intriguing concept without seeing it to completion. Wanting to show the effects of Macbeth and his wife’s decisions on their family and community, Blum created a teenage son for the Macbeths, giving him lines from messengers and minor characters, and added children and young adults to the crowd.

At first, Macbeth seems well integrated into the community, respectful of king and country. But when he chances upon the witches (here played as community grandmothers), he gets his first inkling of impending power and position.

Wade Newhouse’s Macbeth is a reluctant convert to evil-doer, ever questioning the murderous deeds his wife proposes. Newhouse’s “good guy gone wrong” approach makes the character more likeable, putting the onus squarely on Lady Macbeth. Benji Jones’ intense, chilling portrayal easily fills the vast expanse of Raleigh Little Theatre’s amphitheater. Her several scenes with Newhouse are the highlights of the first act.

Within that first hour Thursday, there were strong characterizations from Seth Blum (Banquo), John Honeycutt (King Duncan), and the trio of Lucinda Gainey, Kacey Reynolds Shedler and Arin Dickson (witches). Other fine actors missed the chance to shine in their big scenes later in the play. The actors’ natural-sounding speech made the text easily understood.

Inevitable problems with body-mike dropouts diminished the experience. Blum’s well-paced production seems worthy but audiences are advised that the show plays Chapel Hill’s Forest Theatre in July, a compact venue in which the company uses no body mikes.

This story was originally published June 26, 2015 at 10:30 AM with the headline "Theater review: Bare stages promising production of ‘Macbeth’."