After a bloodbath, what could be better than a seaside holiday? Joe Janes’s Macbeth by the Sea imagines the murderous couple at the heart of Shakespeare’s tragedy as comically put-upon guests at “the Happy Heart Seaside Resort.” Despite tennis, karaoke, and couples massage, the new king can’t quite escape the specter of Banquo, and Lieutenant Columbo keeps showing up with just “one more thing” to ask about the Macbeths’ gory path to power. (They’ve given their names as “Gary and Cheryl Macbeth.”)
Macbeth by the Sea
Through 12/15: Thu–Sat 8 PM, Sun 3 PM; also Sat 11/30 3 PM; no show Thu 11/28; Den Theatre, 1331 N. Milwaukee, 773-697-3830, macbethbythesea.com and thedentheatre.com, $25
Directed by Andrea J. Dymond for John Hancock Productions, Janes’s goofy riff (complete with a pool-noodle duel—choreographed by legendary fight director David Woolley, no less) is a largely satisfying slice of digestible absurdity. The basic dynamics between Mackers and his wife remain intact: at one point, Kelly Haran’s Lady M tells her quailing husband (Ric Walker), “Thou needst to grow a sack.” Lori McClain and Janes play all the other characters, with Janes’s porter and McClain’s Columbo being particular highlights.
The piece is preceded by The Greatest Theatrical Event . . . Ever!, a rather uneven send-up of showbiz tropes in the guise of a history of a decaying theater written by Janes and Walker. Haran’s Elaine Stritch impersonation is charming and disturbing in equal measure, but the curtain-raiser never quite moves past self-conscious theatrical in-jokes. Still, the evening is worth it for the slapstick take on the Scottish play.
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