Murder most foul at Barton

"Macbeth" has always been my favorite Shakespearean play. Say what you will about the profoundly inscrutable emotions of "Hamlet" or swoon over the romance of "Romeo and Juliet," it is "Macbeth" with its horribly flawed characters and its portrayal of evil "lurking at the door" (as the Bible says) that makes me stare in awe and wonder.

Theatre at Barton tackled the tragedy of Macbeth last night with a production that sparkled with surprising performances but occasionally veered off track a bit. Guest artist David McClutchy as Macbeth was as good as one would expect of the professional performers Theatre at Baron director Adam Twiss has lured to the campus. His Macbeth seared with ambition, anguish and guilt. McClutchy also gets credit as "fight choreographer." Michael Murray, another guest artist, gets to spend half the play as a gruesomely bloody and glowering ghost.

More surprising were the bravura performances of Barton students Jess Jones as Lady Macbeth and Wesley Pridgen as Macduff. Jones combines the amoral, evil, ambitious greed of one of literature's creepiest temptresses with a seductive beauty and grace. Her monologues evoke the appropriate chills down the spine. Pridgen screams with palpable anguish over the news of his family's murder and burns for righteous vengeance in a performance that matched the more experienced members of the cast.

Barton contributes both students and staff to this production with Professor Joe Jones looking comfortable in the role of the likable but ill-fated King Duncan and library director Rodney Lippard acquitting himself well in a significant role as Ross. Tony Tilley, director of campus food services, delights students in the audience with his portrayal of the bawdy, drunken porter, lending this dark tragedy a rare bit of levity.

Directors and producers seem intent on modernizing "Macbeth," and Twiss is no exception. This week's production hints at medieval Scotland only through a few tartans worn like bandannas or scarves and wooden dowels substituting for swords. The play's memorable witches in this production are dressed like gypsies or hippies and are thereby less sinister than Shakespeare imagined them. The use of an echo effect when the witches speak, meant to produce an eerie effect, just garbles their lines.

Far more effective is the rumbling thunder in the background that gave scenes their aura of insidious evil. This aural effect is matched by the lighting that conveyed the darkness of the characters and even the fire of the witches' cauldron. Twiss takes full advantage of the "black box" format of the Lauren Kennedy and Alan Campbell Theatre as actors enter and exit through aisles among the audience and run along the catwalk above the audience.

"Macbeth" holds its enduring appeal and haunting caution against tangible evil in this production, in which Barton proves its ability to do serious drama at a high level. The introduction of serious new student talent is a great bonus. The play continues through this weekend.