Theater Reviews : Ever-Present Witches Make for a Jinxed ‘Macbeth’

SANTA ANA —  Of all Shakespeare tragedies, “Macbeth” is the darkest,bloodiest and most elemental.

Macbeth’s headlong plunge toward catastrophe is swifter than Othello’s, more direct than Hamlet’s, steeper than Lear’s. And the play’s demonic portrait of a heroic warrior consumed by malevolent ambition makes Richard in “Richard III” look like a piker, and that’s not easy.

At the Alternative Repertory Theatre, which has opened its eighth season with “Macbeth,” artistic director Patricia L. Terry writes in her program notes that she is “placing the entire play in Macbeth’s unconscious.” That way, Terry believes, she can better illustrate the nightmarish aura of the tragedy. It’s a provocative conceit.

But unless you read her notes, you’d never guess from the production itself that you’re in the depths of Macbeth’s mind. To do that, you’d have to equate Halloween-style witches and their romper-room choreography with terrifying hallucinations. I don’t think Macbeth would even blink. Maybe he’d give them a couple of Tootsie Rolls and tell them to get lost.

The witches certainly do come equipped with chachkis , as they say in Yiddish. They’re wearing all sorts of knickknacks--horns and antlers, beak-nosed masks, goaty fur, colored tights with snaky ornaments, tails and cloven hoofs. And they stick around like psychedelic pests--not content to come and go when Shakespeare bids them--when Terry needs them for atmosphere.

The result, unfortunately, is an artsy-craftsy production that comes off as juvenile.

This “Macbeth” also doesn’t get much shading or depth from its principle actors, who tend to play every scene and every speech with the same intensity regardless of importance. On opening night you could see the entire company “acting” with every bone in their bodies. Instead of giving shape to the drama, they flatten it out and drain it of tension.

Whether Dennis McLernon’s stentorian Macbeth is contemplating murder or dissembling, feeling guilt or resigning himself to defeat, everything seems callow and lacking in weight. This is even more pronounced with Louise Moore’s colorless Lady Macbeth, who can’t galvanize herself, let alone her husband.

With air conditioning newly installed in A.R.T.’s tiny performing space and the audience’s comfort level never better, it would have been nice to report equal artistic success. Maybe next time.

* “Macbeth,” Alternative Repertory Theatre, 1636 S. Grand Ave., Santa Ana. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Nov. 12. $16. (714) 836-7929. Running Time: 2 hours, 25 minutes. Dennis McLernon: Macbeth

Louise Moore: Lady Macbeth

Cheryl Etzel/Dina Bartello/Amber Hamilton: Witches

Jonathan Motil: Banquo

Steven Mallory: Macduff

Joseph A. Calvino: Duncan

Edgar Schulz: Malcolm

Douglas Hayko: Lennox

An Alternative Repertory Theatre production of a play by William Shakespeare. Directed by Patricia L. Terry. Produced by Kathleen A. Bryson. Choreography by Cyrus Parker-Jeannette. Scenic and lighting designs by David C. Palmer. Costume design by Gina Davidson. Sound design by Patrick Parker-Jeannette. Witches and makeup designs by Gary Christensen. Stage manager: Jennifer Faux-Kelly.