Saturday, September 25, 2010

Squeaky Moore reviews BCAM/Macbeth

Play: BCam Macbeth / Flamboyan Theatre / New York City, New York

Reviewed by Squeaky Moore for Riveting Riffs Magazine

What do you get when you stage Macbeth and combine it with live action, a mixture of live-feed and filmed projections?You get ambiguity.

Kevin Kittle’s production begins with a pre-show of a women reading a book on stage and occasionally citing bible quotes and other miscellaneous clichés, such as, “Pride goes before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall,” “Opportunity seldom knocks twice,” and “Christmas comes but once a year,” while at the same time having a young man sitting on the floor and searching it with a magnifying glass.

Then, suddenly, there is a shift in the lighting and fourteen actors and actresses spill onto the stage at various times and from different directions. One is dressed in a tutu and carrying a pig nose, while another is barely clothed and is holding a mirror and that individual is accompanied by a crossdresser. With so much happening on stage, one can only assume that by now the play had begun, as there was nothing definitive to indicated to the audience that was in fact the case.

The set, designed by Doug Durlacher was simple, yet artful, with four white partitions that served well for location changes. Long, white fabric was used to add a classical feel and it aided with the film projection as well. The media design, created by Jared Mezzocchi and Theo Macabeo was also impressive. One of the best stage pictures of the night, (not sure if the credit goes to Kittle, Mezzocchi or Macabeo), is at the end of the play when the cast takes off their shirts and their backs are used to show images of faces.

The material added by Don Nigro and the ensemble bordered for the most part on themes of evil and forced their way into the play, without transitioning smoothly. Then there was the man walking on metal stilts and a school age boy playing with a dead pigeon, which offered no discernable perspective.

Kittle brought together an adequate company of actors, however there were positive exceptions such as the honest and strong portrayal of Banquo by actor Lawrence Ballard. Ballard’s commitment to the other three characters he played was also believable. Danielle Liccardo as Lady Macbeth delivers a solid sleepwalking scene in Act 2.

All and all, if the production of Bcam/Macbeth’s intentions were to show the repercussions and responses to the primary and primal acts of evil, then some of the material was just enough to evoke those ideas, while other ideas were lost in translation.

September 2010

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Squeaky Moore is an actress and acting coach whose website The Coaching Corner with Squeaky Moore provides advice and tips for young actors. She also wrote, produced and directed the improve-based variety show Act Like You Know and Guud Timez, a hilarious send up of the 70s sitcom Good Times. Squeaky appears in the film Gang Girls. Please visit the Squeaky Moore blog

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