‘Macbeth’ Theater Review: Corey Stoll Flails in a Revival With a Bad Case of ADHD
John Doyle’s streamlined production goes by in an oddly bloodless rush
Thom Geier | October 27, 2019 @ 2:30 PM
Last Updated: October 28, 2019 @ 2:22 PM
Photo: Joan Marcus
Even theatergoers familiar with “Macbeth” are liable to be confused by John Doyle’s pared-down 100-minute production, which opened Sunday at Off Broadway’s Classic Stage Company and plays like a highlights reel for students who just need to bone up on the major bits before the final exam and don’t have time to even read the full CliffsNotes.
Not only are major scenes trimmed or cut altogether (like the much-loved porter scene), but most of the nine-person ensemble double, double and even triple up roles — and all join in for chorus-like recitations of the weird sisters, robbing those scenes of much of their otherworldly creepiness.
Worse, Doyle lets scenes play into each other without a pause (or even a lighting cue) so that an actor who seconds ago left the stage as one character reappear as someone else entirely, without even donning a slightly different tartan-blanket accessory in the interim (the subdued modern-dress costumes are by Ann Hould-Ward).
The headlong rush through the text also muddies the motivation of our antihero, Macbeth (Corey Stoll of “House of Cards”), who is at first reluctant to shed blood to fulfill the prophesy that would make him King of Scotland until his wife (Nadia Bowers) emboldens him to screw his courage to the sticking place. With the scenes running together as they do, Stoll’s Macbeth shows less vacillation than puzzling inconsistency. It’s one thing to have a character who doesn’t always know his own mind; it’s another to watch our lead remain a cypher because we can’t puzzle out who he thinks he is from moment to moment.
Doyle’s approach hobbles Stoll, a gifted actor with an unfussy, plainspoken delivery that still retains much of the Bard’s poetry. And Stoll is surrounded by a distinguished, gender- and race-blind cast that includes the inimitable Mary Beth Peil as Duncan (and others) and Barzin Akhavan as Macduff (and others).
There are moments when Doyle’s simple staging is effective, as when Macbeth’s bloody scheming extends to the slaughter of Macduff’s wife and children — a scene that forgoes stage blood and seems all the more horrific for its power of suggestion. But there is far too much lost in this ADHD-fueled revival that seems hell-bent on just making sure the hurly-burly’s done.
Broadway's 12 Top-Grossing Non-Musical Plays of All Time, From 'War Horse' to 'Harry Potter' (Photos)
Broadway isn't just for musicals. Here are the all-time top-grossing straight plays on the Great White Way, according to grosses compiled by the Broadway League up to June 2, 2019. (These figures aren't adjusted for inflation, so recent hits at current sky-high ticket prices have a definite advantage.)
12. "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife" (2000-02)
Total gross: $29,310,727
Charles Busch's play about an Upper West Side matron's mid-life crisis played for nearly two years in a production starring Linda Lavin, Michelle Lee and Tony Roberts.
11. "Network" (2018-)
Total gross: $30,234,206* (as of June 2, 2019)
Bryan Cranston starred as crazy TV newcaster Howard Beale in this hit stage adaptation of the classic 1976 movie.
10. "700 Sundays" (2004-05; 2013-14)
Total gross: $32,029,177
Billy Crystal's autobiographical one-man show found favor in two separate runs on Broadway nearly a decade apart.
9. "August: Osage County" (2007-09)
Total gross: $32,835,606
Tracy Letts' Pulitzer-winning drama became a huge hit on stage without any big stars -- and then a 2013 movie starring with Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts.
8. "Proof" (2000-03)
Total gross: $32,896,994
David Auburn's drama about a woman with a troubled legacy of both mental illness and genius-level math skills earned multiple Tony Awards, including for star Mary-Louise Parker.
7. "The Play That Goes Wrong" (2017-19)
Total gross: $34,341,708
This farce about an amateur theater company's mishap-prone production of a mystery play is another London import that found popularity on this side of the Atlantic.
6. "God of Carnage" (2009-10)
Total gross: $37,345,584
Yasmina Reza's barnstorming dramedy about two dueling couples earned the Tony for Best Drama -- as well as nominations for James Gandolfini, Jeff Daniels, Marcia Gay Harden and Hope Davis.
5. "It's Only a Play" (2014-15)
Total gross: $37,500,966
Terrence McNally's backstage comedy was a huge hit thanks to the Broadway reteaming of Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, stars of the Tony-winning musical "The Producers" a decade before.
4. "To Kill a Mockingbird" (2018 - )
Total gross: $46,597,980* (as of June 2, 2019)
Aaron Sorkin's adaptation of the beloved Harper Lee novel may have been snubbed by Tony nominators for Best Play, but it has been drawing crowds since opening in December 2018.
3. "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" (2014-16)
Total gross: $68,321,435
Another London import, Simon Stephens' adaptation of Mark Haddon's YA novel follows an autistic boy on a quest for the killer of his neighbor's dog.
2. "War Horse" (2011-13)
Total gross: $74,975,253
Michael Morpurgo's YA novel about a British boy's search for his horse in World War I inspired both this epic play, complete with life-size puppets, and Steven Spielberg's 2011 film.
1. "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two" (2018 - )
Total gross: $124,990,844* (as of June 2, 2019)
The stage sequel to J.K. Rowling's saga about the now-grown boy wizard has extra advantages -- since it's a two-night (and two-ticket) epic that plays in a musical-sized auditorium to diehard Potterheads.
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You don’t need an orchestra — or songs — to draw audiences
Broadway isn't just for musicals. Here are the all-time top-grossing straight plays on the Great White Way, according to grosses compiled by the Broadway League up to June 2, 2019. (These figures aren't adjusted for inflation, so recent hits at current sky-high ticket prices have a definite advantage.)
