I do have a sincere (and most likely minority) belief that Shakespeare plays need to be retired as more often than not, it just does not need to be done. It is however an often safe and boring choice for many PWI theatres and a guarantee to hire mostly white actors dishing out their favorite monologues to varying amounts of success.

But Andi Chapman’s rendition of Macbeth at A Noise Within Theatre was neither safe nor boring as she sets the backdrop to that of New Orleans from the late 19th century through the 1920s to incredible thrilling effect with a stunning ensemble cast comprised mostly of Black & global majority actors.

Delve deep into the psychological turmoil of a king tortured by guilt, fate and the corrupting influence of his own desires when A Noise within presents Macbeth, a macabre tale of witches, hallucinations, ambition and power. Shakespeare’s bloodiest couple, Macbeth and his wife thrash against the rise of their own consciences in a gripping psychological and political thriller that follows Macbeth’s transformation from battlefield hero to bloody tyrant, revealing the human soul’s darkest depths.

Right from the get-go, the scenic design by Stephanie Kerley Schwartz, projection design by Nicholas Santiago, lighting design by Andrew Schmedake, and sound design by Jeff Gardner deserves an immediate award-winning shoutout for their incredible work in making the famous Scottish play look and feel haunted & mystical. For a play that relies on minimal props, those combined four elements elevate the play in such a way that it becomes a character all on its own. But a play is incomplete without their actors and direction, and this is where the entire ensemble cast and direction utterly shines.

The play typically opens with the three witches but Chapman decides to focus the opening on the Macbeth couple and without any dialogue, powerfully shows the loss of their child and the love they have for each other in a beautiful dance. This is such a bold choice to open the play this way but it immensely pays off as the monstrous path both of them take become that much more tragic. With the loss of their child, we now have an added layer of the horrific decisions they make to become king and queen. By not forgetting the love and support they have for each other, we see a more fleshed out rendition of Lady Macbeth that Julanne Chidi Hill inhabits to such an astonishing degree beyond the “she’s a bad evil influencer.” When she gets to the “out out damn spot” monologue, she brings the house down with grief and madness all tangled together in their ugly harmony. Kamal Bolden is her equal in the acting department as he goes through a harrowing journey as each murder he commit delves him further and further into insanity while still infusing charm and the eternal struggle that he truly believes he’s doing the right thing (even though he is so far off the morality chart with each murder). On a more superficial level, there is a scene involving the three witches where he takes off his shirt which had several audience members (both men and women) next to me going “oooooh” quietly with delight. Yes, it also helps that Bolden is quite shredded.

It absolutely works with Macbeth being set in 1900s New Orleans as Chapman infuses the voodoo element so well with the three witches (Mildred Marie Langford, Joy DeMichelle, and Roshni Shukla are having the time of their lives just being their possessed weird selves) and fantastically incorporates the haunting unique element of New Orleans that only benefits the play. With the main players being Black actors in this world, this allows extraordinarily talented Black actors to inhabit the Shakespeare roles most often relegated to white actors. Actors I’ve seen in previous A Noise Within productions (who I’ve commented that they should play roles beyond the expected global majority focused plays) can be seen here showing off their talent that made me smile with such a stupid grin on my face. But wait, there’s more.

This production also incorporates so many other global majority talent like the mentioned Roshni Shukla, Daniel J. Kim, Noemi Avalos, Brooklyn Bao, Norman Campos, Angel Monzon, Robert De Loza, and Tony Jimenez. In fact, out of the 21 cast members, only two of them are white. I’m ABSOLUTELY sure a cast like this would be something that the current U.S. administration would quite object to but I am glad that a cast like this was made possible with many of them having their premieres with this theatre company. I’ve criticized A Noise Within multiple times in the past for playing it safe with their actors but a show like this is without a doubt in the right direction.

There are so many technical elements besides the already mentioned scenic, sound, lighting, and projection design that beautifully adds to this play and it is Chapman who takes the main credit for directing this entire thing with such exquisiteness. I’ve seen and reviewed two of her other directed works and it is safe to say that if she has anything she’s directing in an upcoming production, I’ll be there to watch it.

A most needed shoutout to stage manager Sami Hansen and assistant stage manager Hope Matthews for managing this entire production with such precision that the art of coordinating all the moving pieces without any missed beat is an art all in itself. If you’re a fan of Shakespeare or you want to see old dead white men’s works elevated to refreshing degree with terrific global majority artists taking center stage, make sure you watch this production.

MACBETH
• Written by William Shakespeare
• Directed by Andi Chapman
• Starring Michael Boatman, Kamal Bolden, Ben Cain, Joy DeMichelle, Julanne Chidi Hill, Mildred Marie Langford, Ned Mochel, Alex Morris, Roshni Shukla, Randolph Thompson
• Featuring Noemi Avalos, Brooklyn Bao, Norman Campos, Joseph Darby, Robert De Loza, Tony Jimenez, Daniel J. Kim, Howard Leder, Angel Monzon, Koa Spiegel, Ahkei Togun
• Presented by A Noise Within, Geoff Elliot and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, producing artistic directors

WHEN:
Performances February 15 – March 9:
• Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7: 30 p.m. / Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. (no Saturday matinee on February 15; dark Thursday, March 6)

ADDITIONAL DATES:
• A one-hour INsiders Discussion Group will take place prior to the matinee on Sunday, February 16 beginning at 12:30 p.m.
• Post-performance conversations with the artists every Friday (except the preview) and Sunday, February 23
• Student matinees are scheduled on select weekdays at 10:30 a.m. Interested educators should email education@anoisewithin.org.

WHERE:
A Noise Within
3352 E Foothill Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91107

TICKETS:
• Tickets start at $51.50 (including fees)
• Student tickets start at $20
• Discounts available for groups of 10 or more

HOW:
www.anoisewithin.org
(626) 356-3100