Macbeth at Ethel Barrymore Theater
Tony winner and Emmy nominee Alan Cumming (Cabaret, The Good Wife) delivers a dazzling tour de force performance in his solo interpretation of Shakespeare’s classic of ambition, witchcraft and murder.
Accompanied by two mostly silent actors dressed as medical attendants, Cumming plays the sole patient in a bizarre psychiatric ward. As closed-circuit cameras follow him, he assumes every major role in this monumental tragedy of a loyal Scottish general driven to kill his king and assume the throne by the urging of his scheming wife and the cryptic prophecies of three strange sisters.
Directed by John Tiffany (Tony winner for Once) and Andrew Goldberg, this unique staging of one of the world’s greatest plays has been acclaimed in runs at the National Theatre of Scotland and the Lincoln Center Festival. The Herald (UK) gave it four stars, writing “Flying without a safety net, Cumming opens himself up physically in a performance of fearless bravura…a brilliantly troubling play for twisted times.”
“Performing Macbeth last year was the most challenging and fulfilling experience of my career so far, and so I am both honored and daunted to do it again in my adopted hometown of New York City,” said Cumming.
Alan Cumming made his stage debut in 1985 as Malcolm, the son of King Duncan, in a production of Macbeth. He grew up not far from the actual settings of the play in Scotland.
Recent Macbeths on the New York stage include Patrick Stewart (2008), Liev Schreiber (2006), Kelsey Grammer (2000) and Christopher Plummer (1988).
Elements of Macbeth can be seen in the interactive theatre event Sleep No More now playing Off-Broadway.
Actors consider it bad luck to quote from Macbeth while in a theater. Even mentioning the play’s title is forbidden and they always refer to it as “the Scottish play.”
One hour and 45 minutes (no intermission)