STAGE REVIEW : Many Flaws, One Jewel of a Performance in ‘Macbeth’

Shakespeare’s “Scottish play,” like “Hamlet,” sits there like a challenge to every actor who wants to prove himself.

The current production of “Macbeth” at the Shakespeare Society of America’s Globe Playhouse in West Hollywood, while not cloth of gold throughout, provides a respectful framework for the performance of Geoffrey Donne as the tragic Highland chieftain whose flaw is a belief in his own invulnerability. Donne’s performance is the torch that carries the staging to the depth it reaches and lights the shadowy intricacy of Macbeth’s slowly disintegrating climb to, and fall from, the throne.

Director Delbert Spain weaves the threads that descend from Donne’s interpretation into a tight fabric enveloping the forces and major characters around Macbeth, but he doesn’t pay enough attention as they unravel at the bottom. Bits and walk-ons seem to have been neglected. Dick Harris as the Porter, a small but plum role for any good character actor, reads the lines logically but without invention. Art Kempf’s Duncan is merely stodgy. It’s a problem, along with difficulty handling the poetry, that affects most of the supporting cast.

The richness one carries away from the theater comes from the central figures, along with a sense that those actors are familiar with the style of the writing. Alternate Clark Jarrett as Ross, Ed Thomas as the Wounded Captain at the beginning and Alan Brooks as Macduff are all powerful and believable. The Young Malcolm and the Mature Malcolm (Kevin Krakower and Rob Wininger, respectively) give a strong accounting of themselves and look as though they might be the same man at different ages. The heftiest supporting performance is given by Richard Osborn as Banquo, style and integrity imperceptibly blended.

The difficult scene between Lady Macduff and her son is a little gem, with Ceptembre Anthony as the mother and young Jaime McEnnan as the boy enriching the moment with humor and charm.

Janet Newberry’s fine Lady Macbeth is strongly flavored, well-varied in tone and timbre, but her tendency to clarify her dialogue through hand movements softens the hard edge of her reading.

It is unquestionably Donne’s show. His Macbeth seems almost taken aback at his own treachery, but unable to husband his ambition or keep himself from shattering at the realization of where this is all leading him. It is a Macbeth that makes this “Macbeth” worth watching in spite of its flaws.

* Macbeth,” Globe Playhouse, 1107 N. Kings Road, West Hollywood; Thursdays-Sundays, 8 p.m. Ends April 27. $12.50-$25; (213) 654-5623. Running time: 2 hours, 50 minutes.