Something wicked this way comes to the Historic Baker Building. The Lubbock theater community is coming together to put on an independent production of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” with a secret twist and a mixology option.
This independent production, sponsored by the Baker Building, is directed by Zach Judah and produced by Miranda Gunkel, who is also performing as Lady Macbeth. Gunkel and Jojo Garcia, who plays Macbeth, gave a behind-the-curtain look into what will make this production special ahead of the Aug. 13-16 performances.
“If you really want to know why people have such an obsession with Shakespeare, or why we’ve continued to learn about and have it as part of our education, you have to experience it in a theater,” Gunkel said.
The show will have five acts, with intermissions after the second and fourth. Overall, the run time is expected to be 2.5 hours, starting at 7:30 p.m. each night from Thursday to Sunday. It will use lines directly from the classic text.
This article continues after the photo gallery.
What is Macbeth?
“Macbeth,” also known as The Scottish Play, is a work of William Shakespeare. It follows Macbeth’s path to power, betrayal and descent into madness. It also has one of the most popular lines of Shakespeare’s works, “double, double, toil and trouble,” said by the witches.
“One thing that I feel like I flavored Macbeth with in terms of character building is the modernized element of PTSD, and capitalizing on the fact that he’s a warrior coming back from all these things,” Garcia said. “Then cycling back through that trauma in a different way by taking advantage of the people that he has loved at some point and violating that innocence within himself just fractures him.”
It is one of Shakespeare’s tragedies and gained the moniker of “The Scottish Play” due to superstition of it being cursed. Gunkel added that, if their production was a movie, it would be rated PG-13 for suggestive material and representations of violence.
What to know about “Macbeth” Lubbock performances
Judah had a specific vision for the performance, honing in on how women influenced the male characters’ decisions. Due to this, the production has the women characters present more than a traditional Shakespearean production. The secret twist (no spoilers) also raises the stakes for Macbeth in the local production.
Some of Gunkel and Garcia’s favorite moments from rehearsals include the “Tomorrow” monologue from Macbeth, the many performances of Robby Rueda (Fleance, young Siward and Macduff’s son), and a particularly tense scene between the actors of Macduff and Malcom. The witches and Hecate’s performances are also powerful.
“Those three women (the witches) are doing a phenomenal job, and then you throw in KeAsia (Bogus) playing Hecate in the other scenes, and she’s just like the cherry on top of that ever so delicious theatrical sundae,” Gunkel said.
The costuming for this production continues with uniqueness, mixing 80s rock bands with Victorian Gothic styles and cloaks from Red’s Wardrobe, owned by cloak maker Jordan Adams. Other theater companies in town, including the Youth Artists Guild and Roundtable Theater Troupe, have donated materials such as lights and set pieces.
“Everybody’s pitching in, in so many different ways,” Garcia said. “That’s a huge part of how theater comes together.”
The performances will be done in the ballroom with a stage in the center, so the audience sits on all sides of the stage.
VIP tickets are available, and come with plush seating closer to the stage, four drinks, and the ability to participate in some scenes. Three of the drinks are crafted by Josh Lasham, stage manager and mixologist, and the fourth is a wine mix for a scene in the play.
Advanced tickets can be purchased at events.humanitix.com/macbeth-lubbock. General admission is $20, general admission with drinks is $40, and the VIP package is $75.
Alana Edgin writes about business for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Got a news tip? Contact her via email at aedgin@lubbockonline.com.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock production of ‘Macbeth’ talks behind-the-scenes, how to watch
Reporting by Alana Edgin, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Alana Edgin, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal | USA TODAY Network
