Alan Cumming's one-man production of Macbeth lands on Broadway. The National Theatre of Scotland's production of MACBETH was performed last summer at the Lincoln Center Festival. Tony Award-winning actor Alan Cumming's virtuoso performance is a bold reimagining of Shakespeare's chilling tale of desire, ambition, and the supernatural.
The production is set in a psychiatric unit and centers on a patient who is reliving the story of Macbeth. CCTV cameras watch the patient's every move and the clinical walls of the unit come to life in a visually stunning multi-media theatrical experience.
Mr. Cumming...is a versatile performer who here gets to indulge in the kind of high-hurdle challenge (or ego trip) that can prove irresistible to actors...Watching him perform this personalized rendition of 'Macbeth,' I was at times more intrigued by the battle going on between the serious actor and the shameless entertainer than I was by the tense struggles taking place in the divided mind of Macbeth...In terms of stamina and ingenuity, Mr. Cumming's achievement is certainly remarkable. But I came away from my second viewing of this production - I first saw it when it was presented by the Lincoln Center Festival last summer - with the confirmed impression that while Mr. Cumming had persuasively differentiated all the key roles, he had not fully inhabited any one of them.
If it's not clear by now, what Cumming is doing at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre is delivering a tour-de-force that redefines the term...While there is no doubt about Cumming's ability - he cowers, he acts menacing, he strips down, he leaps in and out of a full bathtub and smears himself in gore - there is a feeling that while this is an act of Olympic skill, it's also partly a freak show...The original moments of ingenuity are still here and they make this 'Macbeth' impossible to stop watching..But while Cumming generates pathos, and even sometimes sharp laughter, from his audience, the staging - no matter how inventive - doesn't always add meaning to Shakespeare's play.
1768 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1849 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1849 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1849 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1870 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1899 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1900 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1905 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1906 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1907 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1907 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1907 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1909 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1910 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1910 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1911 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1911 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1911 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1911 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1912 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1913 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1915 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1916 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1917 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1918 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1918 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1921 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1921 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1922 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1924 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1928 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1930 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1930 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1935 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1936 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1936 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1941 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1948 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1956 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1981 | Broadway |
Lincoln Center Revival Broadway |
1982 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
1986 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1988 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
2000 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
2008 | Broadway |
Broadway Transfer Broadway |
2011 | Off-Broadway |
Theatre For A New Audience Production Off-Broadway |
2012 | Off-Broadway |
Epic Theatre Ensemble Production Off-Broadway |
2013 | West End |
Traf Transformed Production West End |
2013 | Broadway |
National Theatre of Scotland Production Broadway |
2013 | Broadway |
Lincoln Center Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design in a Play | Fergus O'Hare |
2013 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Alan Cumming |
2013 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play | 0 |
Videos