The Scottish Play

A couple of weeks ago, I was thrilled when my friend Ericka called to tell me she had an extra ticket to Shakespeare in the Park. Tickets are free, but you have to invest several hours in line to get them, something I can't do during the week. I read Macbeth in high school, and have never seen it, so I was very happy to let Liev Schreiber and Jennifer Ehle act it out for me.
Overall, I enjoyed the production very much. It had been edited, so it felt very fast moving. I thought both Jennifer and Liev did a very nice job. Two of the fight sequences were remarkably beautiful.
That being said, here are a few problems I had. The Public's theme for this years Shakespeare in the Park is war. I feel that there are many Shakespeare scripts to choose from that would work nicely. Macbeth isn't one of them. Yes, there is war in this play, but I feel the main themes of Macbeth are on a much more personal level (ambition, greed, destiny, consequences, etc.) It seemed unnatural to try to make it be about war. For instance, the three witches were dressed as soldiers-it didn't work for me. Also, the play was set in the 1930's and the only reason I can see for that decision is because the costume designer liked it. If you are going to make the choice to set Shakespeare in a different time period, you have to back it up. It needs to be somehow tie into and enhance the themes, characters, and language, and if it doesn't, you can't do it. It's that simple. Lastly, I shocked myself by thinking that maybe Macbeth just isn't one of Shakespeare's better plays. I would have to double check with the script, but it seems to me that we jump from a scene wherein Macbeth's virtues are universally acknowledged, and we see him acquiring even more wealth and prestige, to a scene where he and his wife decide pretty easily to kill the king. What? If Macbeth is as great as we're supposed to think he is, and for the consequences of his actions to be so devastating as they ultimately are to both him and his wife, don't we deserve more agony over such a decision? I really wanted to see Macbeth being eaten away with the desire to become king until he can't stand it, and finally decides to do it. I know we haven't got all night since the emphasis of the play is on the aftermath of this action, but would one more scene really hurt? I was also surprised on how small Lady Macbeth's part is. I of course knew her two famous speeches, but I figured she had a lot more to do than that. Really she had maybe three other scenes with Macbeth, and that was it.
Anyhoo, it was a very fun NY experience to just be at the Delecorte Theatre on a lovely summer night (this was my second time), and I highly recommend the experience to anyone. In August they'll be playing Mother Courage which is Brecht who's not my favorite, and is starring Meryl Streep so it'll be crazy to get in, but I'm still going to try, and you should too.