PORT ANGELES — “Macbeth, or The Curse of the Scottish Play” will open with performances at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the Little Theater on Peninsula College’s Port Angeles campus, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
Tickets are $18 per person and can be purchased at the box office one hour before showtimes.
The production begins with a modern language adaptation of the Shakespearean play before finishing with a brief version of the play in period language.
The Curse of the Scottish Play refers to the widespread superstition among Shakespearean actors that the play is cursed and that the name “Macbeth” should never be uttered inside a theater except during a rehearsal or performance, and then only when called for in the script.
Because of that, the play is commonly referred to as “The Scottish Play,” due to its setting, or “The Bard’s Play.”
In this adaptation, created by Anna Johnson Andersen, the first act is a comedic take on a rehearsal of the notoriously cursed tragedy with the company paraphrasing lines while dealing with a reduced cast and dealing with conflict between the actors and their director.
Andersen, who co-teaches the college’s Drama 101 class with Lara Starcevich, will direct a cast that includes experienced community actors, students from the drama class and some stars from a local troupe of actors with developmental disabilities.
Marissa Meek, the production’s technical director, also will direct some of Lady Macbeth’s scenes, since Andersen will play that role after losing the actress who originally was cast.
Andersen also is suffering from an infected wound on her foot.
“The play has seemingly fallen prey to the famous curse, losing multiple actors to illness,” Andersen said. “Playing Lady Macbeth is not a challenge I was looking for. But the opportunity to do so opposite the extremely talented Tim Thorn as Macbeth is more than a consolation. It’s an honor.”
During rehearsals, four main characters had to be replaced for a sickness or other disruptions.
Justin Stapleton will perform the role of Lennox with only four rehearsals.
The production was further plagued by the sudden illness of its lead actor which led to the cancellation of its Nov. 21 scheduled opening at Field Arts & Events Hall.
“We have all agreed that it might have been a bad idea to make fun of the curse that has, for centuries, been said to follow productions of Macbeth,” Andersen said.
