For this show, we had to drive a whopping 200 miles. The Wooden O theater company (www.seattleshakespeare.org/woodeno) is based in Seattle, and their productions are staged all around the area. This show was in a lovely park in Lynwood, about 45 minutes North of Seattle but only 15 minutes from where we were staying at my brother's house in Mount Lake Terrace.
Since we hadn't been to the venue before, we decided it would be better to get there a little early, rather than later. But we even with a few missed directions, we were 90 minutes early. All this meant though, was that we got prime seats in a very small amphitheater tucked away in a wooden glen. Very pretty and added great atmosphere once the sun started to go down and the shadows grew long. Watching the set up, Amanda was dismayed to see large speakers being tested. In Portland, none of the outdoor shows are amplified which sometimes adds to the fun because people in Portland will always let actors know when they can't hear the dialogue. Apparently, the standards are different in Washington. Amanda was also puzzled to see the clearly very expensive fight gear, being more accustomed to a more DIY vibe back home (a stick for a sword). This company was obviously well funded.
The show itself moved at a brisk pace with no intermission and wrapping up at just about one hour. This meant much of the show as written had been cut, though they managed to leave in every possibly violent scene. The killing of McDuff's family, always shocking, was particularly so in this productions as Lady McDuff had her throat slit onstage mere feet from many small children in the front row. Good thing they didn't spring for blood packs. Though there was plenty of blood: on the fighters, on the witches, on Lady Macbeth.
The role of Lady Macbeth was competently played but Amanda couldn't disagree with her underlying motivation more. There is little in the script to explain her actions so this show decided to go with that old chestnut, "Her baby died, so she went nuts." It didn't work on any level as far as Amanda was concerned.
Wendy rated the venue a 6 because it wasn't big enough to accommodate the audience. As a result we were packed in like sardines. The production earned a 8.5 because, Lady Macbeth's motives aside, and the fact that they cut so much out aside, it was a good production. The set was really awesome-a two tiered set on a scaffold. The costumes and props were "really top-drawer." She always likes a good fight scene and appreciates how difficult they are, and she thought they did really well, even with all the throat slitting. She also like Lady Macbeth as she enjoys a good crazy lady, and with the obsessive hand washing, the actor portrayed her insanity very well. She aspires to be a crazy lady some day (in the theater only, of course).
Amanda rated the venue a 7 for easy, ample parking and a lovely place to sit for 90 minutes. She also appreciated the fellow playgoers who, though some we overheard had never been to a Shakespeare play, were respectful of each other. The set scaffold was amazing to look at, and the actors appeared comfortable on it, but it wobbled a bit too much for Amanda's comfort. This is listed in the venue rating as each stage is dependent upon the venue-dirt, concrete, wooden platform all play differently.
As for the show itself, a rating of 4. Primarily for the level of gratuitous violence in an admittedly violent show. She thinks they went overboard, much to Wendy's disagreement who is shocked at Amanda's low rating. Points were also taken off for the liberal cuts to the script at the expense of character development. Sure, why not kill off Mcduff's family? We never got to know them in the first place. She also vehemently disagreed with Lady Macbeth's motivation (see above), though the actor did a fine job with what she was given. The acting overall was adequate but Macbeth seemed to be a one note wonder who, after rising to a fevered pitch in the first scene, had nowhere to go. And in a fit of pique, Amanda was also bugged by the guy playing Malcolm who looked just like Seth Green and that was distracting. Wendy does agree on this point also, but nothing else.
We had planned to see two other shows while in Seattle but were rained out both nights. Still managed to have a lovely picnic dinner in Amanda's parent's house though, so that was nice.
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