A Noise Within performs ‘Macbeth’
Danielle Cohen
The legend of the curse of “Macbeth” won’t stop A Noise Within
from kicking off its 12th season with a performance of the
Shakespearean classic.
The company has never performed “Macbeth,” which previews on Sept.
20, partly because it’s been difficult in the past to find actors who
will perform the play.
“There’s the old curse thing with ‘Macbeth’ and it scares people
away ... actor-wise,” group co-founder Geoff Elliott said. “Actors
often take it very seriously.”
Among the beliefs is that when rehearsing other plays, one should
never say the word “Macbeth” within the theater.
“I don’t think this play is cursed. I think this play is blessed,”
Elliott said. “It’s a masterpiece. It’s one of (Shakespeare’s)
greatest.”
Elliott and his wife, Julia Rodriguez Elliott, will direct the
performance.
“It’s one of those [plays] that’s been on the backburner for a
long time for us and it just seems like the right time,” Rodriguez
Elliott said. “It’s a very exciting piece.”
The Elliotts and co-founder Art Manke started A Noise Within in
Glendale in 1991 to create a forum for classic theatrical
performances.
“In choosing the season, you’re always trying to find balance,”
Rodriguez Elliott said. “You want to perform the classics that are
tried and true, as well as those that are under-performed. You need a
balance between the light and dark.
“With Macbeth, we hadn’t found the right season. This season, we
had the right balance,” she said. “There’s such variety this year in
what we’re doing.”
“A Wilde Holiday,” an adaptation of three fairy tales by Oscar
Wilde, makes a return to the theater’s stage after its successful run
during last holiday season.
“We planned to make it a holiday tradition,” Elliott said. “It’s a
little different. It’s not your basic ‘A Christmas Carol.’ ”
William Inge’s “Bus Stop” also returns from last season. The group
will tour the production starting in February at several venues in
California, including the South Bay and Palm Springs.