The Cursed Play

Seeing the Thane of Cawdor and his wife murder a bunch of people whilst slowly going crazy may not seem like the most romantic way to spend an important anniversary.  For me, it was perfect.  Despite the gigantic rainstorm at the outdoor theater I was seeing it at.  In fact, that probably made it better because it helped Macbeth live up to it's rep as The Cursed Play*.  And also, what's spookier than having the witches rant and rave while Mother Nature adds to the production value with flashes of lightning and cracks of thunder?  Yes, this year's viewing of Macbeth at the Utah Shakespearean Festival will forever stand out in my mind as one of the most unique theater experiences I've ever had.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Let me backtrack.  Our little family tagged along on the annual trip Carter's family takes to Cedar City last week.  As I've mentioned before, I LOVE the Utah Shakespearean Festival (we spent our honeymoon there, so it was fitting to go back again ten years later).  We got to see two of my favorite** Shakespearean plays this year:  Macbeth and Much Ado About Nothing.  Any year that I get to see more than one play is super exciting, but two favorites?  Spectacular! 

Before the play that night, we had dinner with the whole family and then took the kids to The Green Show.  The weather was a bit cloudy and cool (which I didn't mind), but there weren't any indications of a storm brewing other then a couple of random rain drops.  I thought we would be safe.  I went to the restroom after sending the kids off with Carter's sisters (who were on kid duty that night) and when I came back out, the heavens had opened.  I was amazed (and aghast!) at how rapidly things deteriorated. 

We spent about 45 minutes just standing around in the deluge, waiting for ruling on the play (were we rained out?  were we going to wait for the storm to pass?).  Ushers passed out umbrellas.  We took some pictures to pass the time (and, of course, to document the occasion).  They're nice and blurred from the rain.

Then we realized our seats were actually covered, so we entered the theater and sat in those for a while.  I took an illegal picture of Birnam Wood.  Shhh, don't tell.

Won't Macbeth be surprised when these branches make it to Dunsinane Castle?

Finally, about an hour after the play was supposed to start, we were all ushered into the indoor theater.  We were rained out after all.  I was pretty heartbroken because the Adams Theater is probably my favorite theater in the whole world.  I love sitting outside--there is just something about the combination of the leaves rustling in the cool night breeze, the rising moon, and Shakespeare.  It feels like perfection.  Inside is not nearly as much fun.  But the actors were good and the story fascinating (love those witches, love the Porter, love the creepy Macbeths).   Since it was the second play we saw, it was also fun to see the actors we had seen in Much Ado take on different roles (Beatrice and Lady Macbeth = same actress!  Dogberry and Banquo = same actor!).  Really, I almost forgot about the real tragedy (the rain, of course!).

At intermission we headed outside to grab some refreshments (oh, how I love thee, Utah Shakespearean Cream Cheese Tarts!) and noticed it wasn't raining anymore.  I was stuffing my face when they made the announcement that we got to stay outside for the second Act (well, Acts IV and V, but you know what I mean)!  Huzzah!  That second part was really, really special.  The night was so eerie (again, lighting bolts kept lighting up the whole sky and ominous thunder would crack at the most perfect times), so seeing Lady Macbeth go insane and kill herself was even scarier than usual.  I LOVED it.  We gave the actors a standing ovation.  And they applauded us right back because of all we had been through (getting soaked, waiting forever, being herded in and out of the indoor theater).  It was magical. 

I can't wait to go back next year.  With or without rain.

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*I ended up going to the lecture Dr. Ace Pilkington gave the next morning and I learned loads about the play (like the true history of Macbeth, one of the last great Celtic kings who didn't actually murder Duncan and about some of the choices the director made in this production, i.e. why the Macbeths and the witches were so young).  Dr. Pilkington thinks Macbeth got a bad rap over the years because failing theater companies often chose this popular play to try to save themselves.  As a result, it was last play many, many companies have performed over the centuries.  And, as every working actor knows, the last play before you lose your job can seem a little cursed.

**Top Ten Shakespeare Plays According to Kelly

1. Twelfth Night
2.  Othello
3.  Macbeth
4.  The Winter's Tale
5.  Much Ado About Nothing
6.  Hamlet
7.  Henry the Fifth
8.  King Lear
9.  A Midsummer Night's Dream
10. The Merchant of Venice

Explanations/justifications of these choices will have to be saved for another post.  

Oh yeah.  I should probably post some pics of the kids and some family activities that happened on the trip.  Hmm, again, maybe in another post!

Me and My Buddy, Shakespeare