"I know not whether the day was fair or foul..." ~ Jane Eyre

Last night, thanks to my sister Robin, I had the fortunate opportunity to see Patrick Stewart playing a Shakespearean role live for the second time in my life. Yesterday evening he played the most foul Macbeth, and I was no more than twenty feet away from him experiencing the hubris of his character and demise of his character’s life. The director set the play in a Stalin-esque backdrop, and the interpretation of the witches is one that made me draw my breath in. Of course I know the play inside and out after teaching it for six years, and I thought this production a great take on the great Bard’s work. I was not a fan of the Lady – she was too dramatic and intense too soon. Lady Macbeth must start out calm, cool, and collected, or we never see her stark and intense change by the end of the play; the actress played her intense since the first moment, which did not work well.

What always works well is anything Patrick Stewart performs. I admit to not being a Trekkie, but I always admire his work. I saw him over 12 years ago as Prospero: his best Shakespearean role in my opinion. He drew me in last night, but as Prospero he drew me in and had me at his commanding mercy. Sadly, I never saw his one man show of A Christmas Carol. I hope that he comes back to BAM more to perform Shakespeare. I would love to see him as Caesar; that is a dream role I envision him in next. He is truly a Shakespearean actor, something hard to come by these days, and I admit feeling jealousy for each cast member getting to share the stage with him last night. I admit: I have a "thing" for Patrick Stewart...

I hope you take the time to look at the review of the performance...and to check out wonderful photos from the production that capture its essence.

http://theater2.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/theater/reviews/15macb.html?scp=1&sq=macbeth%20patrick%20stewart&st=cse