Short Shakespeare! Macbeth now playing

Short Shakespeare! is one of my favorite Chicago Shakespeare Theater programs. Designed for younger audiences with shorter attention spans, it’s really a fun way for anyone to see a live production in the Courtyard Theater.

This production, Macbeth, is outstanding. To a certain extent, it’s given that anything in the Chicago Shakespeare Theater Courtyard Theater will be outstanding. What makes Macbeth special is the detail presented in the 75-minute show. The costumes are gorgeous. The acting sublime. The stage is a launching pad, with actors using every part of the theater to perform.

Macbeth is a good way to introduce Shakespeare to tweens, teens and young adults. The main story themes -- personal ambition and political intrigue -- remain relevant for today’s world. Chicago Shakespeare Theater describes the show by saying, “In a world brimming with the supernatural, three witches’ prophecies reveal a path to the throne for Scottish nobleman Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth. Blinded by their royal desires, the couple struggles to balance conscience with ambition, leading to dark consequences.

What makes Short Shakespeare! such a wonderful introduction to the Bard’s work is the way the theater handles the audience. Before the show, an actor comes on stage to discuss Shakespeare’s language. The idea is to let everyone know it’s ok to struggle with the language at first. The actor acknowledges that is sound strange, but asks the audience to give their ears a chance to get used to it. While listening to the performance, I often thought that part of the issue with Shakespeare is that we don’t use words the same way he did. Some of the words he used have shifted in meaning since he wrote his now-classic works. It makes it a bit harder to follow the story when you have to interpret the meaning.

After the show the performers come on stage to talk to the audience. An ”emcee” takes questions about the show and the actors get a chance to show their real personalities. The actor/audience interaction moves out into the lobby as people start leaving Groups of people stood with actors asking all kinds of questions. There was a lot of interest in the costumes, which were simply stunning.

Short Shakespeare! is a great outing for friends, scout troops or birthday parties. Tickets for the 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. performances are $16 - $20 each, with discounts for groups of ten or more.  There is an ASL Duo-interpretation and Open Captioning performance on February 7 at 11:00 a.m. and an Audio Description on January 31 at 2:00 p.m. For more information, visit www.chicagoshakes.com.

Photo caption: Macbeth (Chris Genebach) encounters the three “Weird Sisters” (from left Andrea San Miguel, Tiffany Yvonne Cox, Kevin Cox) who prophesize his future glory in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Short Shakespeare! Macbeth, adapted and directed byKristen Kelly, now through February 14 at CST’

Disclosure:  I did attend the media opening. My words and opinions are my own.