Macbeth mesmerizes while Six Women with Brain Death dies!

Stacy Ross as Lady Macbeth and Judd Williford as Macbeth (photo by Kevin Berne)

Two wildly different theatrical experiences are available in Orinda and Martinez this week that provide audiences the opportunity to experience complete sensory overload that is sanguinary, scintillating, and scary in one production, and the other, a tabloid musical that is filled with outrageously silly, sophomoric and upbeat humor. The California Shakespeare Theater in Orinda opens its new season with the madness and murderous machinations of Macbeth and the Willows Campbell Cabaret Theatre in Martinez has revived a crazy musical first produced by them many years ago, “Six Women with Brain Death”.

Shakespeare and Macbeth, what more can one say and what more can there be to see one might ask? Everyone on this planet must be familiar in some way with William Shakespeare’s famous Scottish play, Macbeth. It is certainly one of his most well known, most often staged productions. This story of ultimate greed and despotism is renowned for its horrifically gory and bloody intrigues. Yet, the current production, adapted and directed by Joel Sass, is definitely a “stunner”, from beginning to end! From set design, to sound, to lighting, to an exceeding amount of blood dispersal, to superlative acting, this production will have to go down as one of the most noteworthy yet, certainly in the eyes of this reporter.

When I learned that Stacy Ross, who recently excelled in her portrayal as Mrs. Warren in California Shakespeare Theatre’s production of Mrs. Warren’s Profession, would play the stone cold and merciless wife of Macbeth, my anticipation to see this particular production grew. Add to this the knowledge that Jud Williford, who was so excellent in Private Lives and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, generally in more light-hearted roles, would play the hard hearted if not heartless Macbeth, I knew this would be a unique production. Add into the mix the very talented Craig Marker whom I loved in Center Repertory Theater’s production of “The Marriage of Figaro”, and who is now assuming the powerful character of Macduff. I awaited this show’s opening with great anticipation this past weekend.

No disappointments here! Sass’s vision of this marvelous theatrical statement on greed, revenge and warrior mentality exceeded my imagination in every respect, in every detail, except perhaps for one over indulgence. There was blood everywhere, in every scene, in every nook and cranny, almost to the point of being cartoonish! So much blood throughout the play that I found myself echoing in advance the well known forthcoming pronouncement by Lady Macbeth, “- - yet who would have thought the old man had so much blood in him!” Lady Macbeth will later lament her participation in the death of Duncan, as she (walking and talking in her sleep) tries to cleanse her hands of the imaginary sanguinary deposits.

If you are not familiar with the story, it begins with two great warriors, captains Macbeth (Jud Williford) and Banquo (Nicholas Pelczar) returning from their victorious military engagement with invading Norsemen. They encounter three weird sisters, witches in common parlance, who, while in “incantation mode”, predict to the two warriors that one, Macbeth, shall be a future king and the other, Banquo, will father future generations of kings, without becoming a king himself. This revelation excites their imaginations and sets in motion the desire and ultimate series of events that allow these prophecies to come to pass.

Sass has set this scene in modern times with modern, well equipped warriors and appropriately attired soldiers, brandishing modern automatic weapons and long knives (machetes) as their swords of choice. The opening scene is set in a structure that evokes fear and foreboding, reminiscent of a war-torn antiquated hospital ward, focusing attention on a filthy, dirty, grimy operating room environment. A worried King Duncan (James Carpenter) looks on as nurses wheel in an injured warrior, bleeding and in excruciating pain, but conscious enough to inform the king of his military’s successes, particularly the glorious actions of soon to be heroes, Macbeth and Duncan.

As the weird sisters had foretold, events begin to unfold which allow Macbeth to be granted greater political position, first elevated by decree of the King from Thane of Glamis to Thane of Cawdor. Shortly thereafter, the king and his entourage gather at Inverness, Macbeth’s castle, to celebrate the announcement that the King’s eldest son, Malcolm, will be the future king, if and when Duncan should leave his mortal life. Macbeth’s wife (Stacy Ross) sees this as a great political opportunity and goads her husband into killing the King while he is asleep and frames his attendants with the murder. The king only has one son in this version of the story (Donaldbain, the younger son is missing) as Sass has adapted it and that son is Macolm (Nick Childress). Young Malcolm fears for his life due to the heavy feeling of treachery in his country and he immediately flees to England, leaving the impression that perhaps he had arranged the murder of his father so that he could succeed to the throne more rapidly. Macbeth is named King of Scotland, succeeding the murdered Duncan.
Macbeth revels in his role as king of Scotland but he is obsessed by the second pronouncement of the Weird Sisters, that Banquo’s offspring will provide a line of future kings. He dreams fitfully and fearfully every night, dreams related to Banquo and his son Fleance succeeding him as king. Macbeth has no children and little apparent prospect of having any, so he dispatches murderers to waylay Banquo and Fleance (Noah Baldwin). The murderers succeed in killing Banquo but Fleance escapes.

Macbeth's fears drive him to return to the heath to again consult the Weird Sisters. They warn him to beware the warrior Macduff, but assure him that "none of woman born shall harm Macbeth," and that he "shall never be vanquished until great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him." Macbeth asks the sisters if Banquo's children or their children shall ever reign upon the Scottish throne. In answer, the Weird Sisters conjure up a frightening dreamlike procession of kings who all look alike and are followed by the ghost of Banquo. Macbeth is transfixed in horror as he realizes the meaning of the prophecy. Macbeth immediately sends murderers to Fife, the home of Macduff, and Macduff's wife, children and servants are brutally murdered while Macduff is in England seeking the assistance of Malcolm and others to help him raise an army to overthrow the tyrannous King.

Lady Macbeth’s fears and guilt begin to imbue her with a terrible melancholy and unsettled nature. She begins to walk in her sleep and speak of terrible things. Her instability troubles Lord Macbeth and he calls for a doctor to administer to her. In the process of diagnosing her ailment, the doctor witnesses her nocturnal wanderings and utterances:
Doctor
Hark! She speaks: I will set down what comes fromher, to satisfy my remembrance the more strongly.
LADY MACBETH
Out, damned spot! Out, I say!--One: two: why,then, 'tis time to do't.--Hell is murky!--Fie, mylord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need wefear who knows it, when none can call our power toaccount?--Yet who would have thought the old manto have had so much blood in him.
Doctor to Lady Macbeth’s nurse
Do you mark that?
LADY MACBETH
The thane of Fife had a wife: where is she now?--What, will these hands ne'er be clean?--No more o'that, my lord, no more o' that: you mar all withthis starting.

Macduff and Malcolm lead a great army into battle against the King of Scotland and Macbeth is finally slain by Macduff, allowing Malcolm to succeed to the throne.

This production is certainly unique and enriched by a broad pallet of talented actors in addition to the several already mentioned. James Carpenter plays at least four totally different characters and demonstrates excellence in each and every characterization. Perhaps his most memorable is that of the porter in the scene where King Duncan is found murdered. Omoze Idehenre plays Macduff’s wife and several other characters. Samantha Martin plays well the son of Macduff, and Brian Patterson and Marissa Keltie play significant roles as well.

This is Shakespeare Theatre at its best and I strongly urge you to sign up and buy your tickets now as I am sure this production will sell out soon. “Macbeth” runs Tuesdays through Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., with Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with a Saturday matinee on September 11th at 2 p.m., and Sunday performances at 4 p.m., now through September 12th. The Bruns Amphitheater is located at 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way (new name, formerly Gateway Blvd.), just off highway 24 at the new Wilder Road Exit. All tickets are available at the California Shakespeare Theater box office at 701 Heinz Avenue, in Berkeley. You may call (510) 548-9666 or visit their website on line at http://www.calshakes.org/ . Single tickets range in price between $34 and $70 with discounts for seniors. The grounds open two hours before each show for picnicking.

The theater is still subject to the whims of the weather, as this is an outdoor amphitheatre, so be sure to dress warmly with layers of clothing that you may adjust according to need. When that fog comes over the hills, it can get downright cold and uncomfortable in the outdoor seating. Blankets are available for a small donation on the premises.

Six Women with Brain Death - - Plagued by sound problems, fails to live up to expectations!

Now, back to Martinez and “Six Women with Brain Death” in progress in the little Willow’s Campbell Cabaret Theatre. Karen and I originally saw this production in the old Willows Theatre in the Willow’s Shopping Center around 1990 and absolutely loved it. We were so impressed with the show’s concept, its cleverness, the brashness and audacity of the show’s author, Mark Houston, that we were excited that we were going to get an opportunity to see it again. After the first few minutes however, we realized that our hopes were sadly misplaced as this production was nothing close to what we thought we remembered it being many years ago.

While the show has some really talented actresses portraying the diverse characters in this production, the sound was atrocious. I do not know what was going on, but starting from the first act, first scene, the music was so loud that it drowned out the beautiful voices causing us to ask each other again and again and again, “What did they say?” By intermission I had just about given up hope, but we hung in there and it seemed to get better, slightly, after that. After the show, several people I spoke with also complained that the sound was a real problem. The sets were uninspired and drab, bringing absolutely nothing to the production values. Sadly, even though the talented cast performed well as individuals, even the harmony as a group was lacking. I had to read the program to figure out that the opening scene was supposed to be about archeologists searching through ancient ruins where they found and reported on headlines from the past, headlines apparently from old grocery store tabloid publications. Apparently I couldn’t interpret the hieroglyphics on the backdrop and the pith helmets with headlights worn by the ladies didn’t resonate for me either. Boy, I would never make it in Egypt as an archeologist, would I?

This is a very clever show that takes the cover stories from tabloid publications such as the Enquirer, the National Star, and other celebrity bashing, take-no-prisoners yellow journalism publications and brings each dumb story to life in a very funny pop-culture assortment of musical comedy vignettes. Headlines such as: “Severed Head Lives 6 days”, “Mom Sells Twins to Buy Lottery Tickets”, Bizarre Disease Makes Woman Eat Kitchen Sink” and “Cannibal Cow Eats Hamburger” inspire the skits to follow. If the real tabloids couldn’t bash Judy Garland or schmoose up Elvis Pressley, they turned to Sonny and Cher, their super star romance, marriage, and divorce and on again, off again encounters of the kinky third kind. Americans bought millions of these trash journals from the supermarkets and loved it, so why not a musical about the same phenomenon.
Then came “Six Women with Brain Death” asking us what is real, and what to do with it when you find out, hence the clear fit with the subtitle of this play: Expiring Minds Want to Know ("expiring" seems to equate to both "inspiring" and "inquiring" minds). Brain death seems to come from conflicting information that makes truths difficult to ascertain.

The play seems to ask us if TV soap operas are as real as the gossip and character assignation brought on by one's neighbors? Are wild stories in the tabloids less fictional than the weird truth we see every day in the newspapers? Can children understand the difference between fairy tale and reality in a nursery rhyme? A dream is very real while we are inside dreaming it. Some of us seem to live the dream and after it's over, do we recover from the bubble of its illusion?

There are some very funny scenes in this production; in particular, the severed head on the kitchen table scene is an absolute riot! Several of the scenes were very well done, high energy, great enthusiasm, great spunk, lots of good stuff, but the sound mish-mashed the good stuff and made it less than desirable.

The ladies of this show are very talented ladies with excellent voices and consist of: Chatherine Gloria, Julianna Kohley, Kristine Lowry, Muraya Ranierri, Erica Richardson and Jujuana Williams. They tried very hard and I give them a great big “A” for effort, but with other elements making life difficult for them, their efforts could not pull it off. This converted auto parts store turned theater venue has always had a sound problem and it was evident in spades the night I saw this show. If they get the sound turned around it could be a very entertaining production. Here’s hoping and wishing them the best, but I certainly cannot recommend it this time. Sorry gang, sorry that I have to have to report this kind of story, but I must.

“Six Women with Brain Death” continues Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with matinees on Wednesdays at 3:30 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday performances at 2 p.m., now through September 10th. Tickets range in price between $22 and $32 each with discounts for Seniors and Students. To purchase tickets call 798-1300 or visit the Willow’s Theater web site at http://www.willowstheatre.org/ . The theatre is located at 636 Ward Street in downtown Martinez, one block east of Main Street, at the corner of Estudillo street.