The playwright was clever to not rely solely on Macbeth’s innate condition or his wife’s prodding to trigger such a horrific act as regicide. Things begin with Macbeth (Mark Corkins) and friend Banquo (Enrique Bravo) coming across a trio of witches chanting over a potion they are preparing (“Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble”). Among other things, they predict that Macbeth will become king. When their addressing him as thane of Glamis and Cawdor soon proves accurate, they gain credibility. Most cleverly, Shakespeare gives Macbeth a quasi-rational sense being untouchable, as the witches tell him he will never be vanquished until Birnam Woods come to Dunsinane hill and that “none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.” How he is tricked provides amusing satisfaction.

Though the expression “milk of human kindness” originated here, it was only by negative example, as the passionately cruel lady Macbeth berates her husband for having too much of it. Corkins is coupled with Emily Trask, and they make for deliciously dastardly villains. As a tragic figure, Macbeth is as unsure of himself before and shortly after his murderous act, although once in power he plunges forth as heedless as a hurricane. Corkins provides the proper regal bearing and an underlying vulnerability; when the time comes for his “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” soliloquy of despair, Macbeth has gained our empathy if not earned our sympathy.

As the usurping king’s wheedling and even more ambitious wife, Trask is a formidable presence. Lady Macbeth has a single-track mind on which she speeds her husband to the throne, so she can be performed with uninteresting directness, but not here. The actress makes her shrewd and cunning, sexuality both masking her savage intentions and providing Macbeth further motivation. When this intense Lady Macbeth tells her husband, who is vacillating about murdering the king, that she would sooner bash out the brains of her suckling babe than not carry through such a serious promise, we believe her.

The haunting melody of “Double, double, toil and trouble” chimes throughout Wilcox Park every night as the Colonial Theater performs “Macbeth” for 2012′s Shakespeare in the Park.

Marion Markham, Bonnie Griffin and Shannon Hartman mystify as the three witches who present the prophecy that sets the stage for all the events in the play. Thanks to the sound system, their terrifying spells, spoken in unison, can be heard clearly from all corners of the park. Although the sound cuts out at times throughout the play, minute to minute it pays off in a big way as cries of pain, suffering and revenge ring out throughout the two-hour performance.

Director Harland Meltzer does not shy away from the brutality of the play, as it contains several violent murders, fights and even a few battles. The Colonial Theater has been boasting about the stage combat of “Macbeth” for good reason; it works perfectly and keeps the audience on edge.

Emily Trask does a slow burn as Lady Macbeth, the play’s “devil on your shoulder” character. She starts out with an average performance as the wife of Mark Corkins’ Macbeth, convincing him to take the throne of Scotland from King Duncan through murder. However, Trask really begins to shine as the play goes on and her character loses her sanity. She flexes her acting muscles as she unleashes her madness, highlighting the darkness of guilt that is a central theme of Shakespeare’s play.

Corkins’ is believable as the humble war hero Macbeth at the beginning of the play, the guilt-ridden maniac in the middle, and the ambitious villain at the end. His deep voice commands the audience’s attention.

Other noteworthy performances come from Jamie Dufault as Malcolm, Duncan’s son. Dufault shares an extraordinary and intense scene with the play’s breakout performer, John-Patrick Driscoll, who is making his first Westerly Shakespeare in the Park appearance as Macduff, a nobleman who does not support Macbeth’s seizure of the throne. In the scene, the two venture away from the stage and into the audience, as Dufault impresses with his youthful wisdom and Driscoll demonstrates the animalistic intensity of a man bent on revenge.

Paul Romero provides some comic relief as the drunken Porter, who stumbles to answer a pounding at the door earlier on in the play. He delights children and adults as he relieves himself in almost every possible way on stage and plays around with accents as a loveable drunk. While talking like a hillbilly may not be believable in 11th-century Scotland, no one was able to complain through their laughter as he literally rolled off the stage to make his exit.

One wouldn’t expect a play that takes place outdoors in the park to have the production values like those of Colonial Theater’s. Fog machines make it so the witches perform in a thick haze that makes seeing them difficult but in the most gleefully terrifying way. The set is made of several vertical wooden planks that allow a bit of colored light to shine through from behind in times of madness, calm and violence, adding a surprising visual element to a seemingly simple setup.

At the end of the performance, after the cast had taken their bow, Paul Romero spoke to the crowd with two simple requests. The first was to request that if they liked what they saw to please give a generous donation. The second was for people to leave and “tell (their) friends what’s going on in Wilcox Park and tell them to get their butts down here and check it out!”

For Emily Trask, playing Lady Macbeth this summer in the Colonial Theater’ s production of “Macbeth” is rewarding on a number of levels.
First, says the Yale School of Drama grad, assuming the role of one of Shakespeare’s most manipulative women is something she’s been hoping to accomplish for some time.
“It has been on my bucket list,” says Trask, a lithe redheaded Midwesterner who’s acted with the Utah Shakespearean Festival, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, The Milwaukee Repertory Theatre and Yale Repertory Theatre and who has played the parts of Ophelia and Portia.
“Playing such an iconic role is humbling,” she says. “It’s a gift.”
There’s also the open-air stage.
“I secretly love being outdoors,” she laughs. “It’s actually amazing to have a line where you talk to the moon and you look up and see the moon and to have actual trees for Birnham Wood.
And there’s her leading man, and the show’s director.
“I feel very lucky,” adds Trask. “Lucky to work with Harland and lucky to be working with Mark.”
Harland, of course, is Harland Meltzer, the Colonial Theatre’s producing artistic director returning to direct his 21st season of Shakespeare-in-the-Park.
Mark is Mark Corkins, who plays Macbeth, a member of the Hilberry Repertory Company in Detroit.
And while Trask and Corkins have actually shared the stage a number of times — Corkins was also a member of The Milwaukee Repertory Theatre — this is their first time playing opposite one another in lead roles.
Corkins, who has played the part of Macbeth before in Milwaukee, echoes his leading lady, adding that he finds the venue, with its summer sky and abundance of trees, an added benefit and very fitting for this play.
“There are so many images about night and nature,” he says.
Corkins also says he’s curious to see how “free Shakespeare” plays out.
“I’m excited to see what a nonpaying audience will make of it,” he says, “I’m curious to see if we’ll be compelling enough to grab people’s attention.”
As far as his role as Macbeth, the character drama critic Christopher Isherwood describes as a man with a “divided nature, torn between ambition and honor, blood lust and guilt,” Corkins says he finds both the play and his role “infinitely interesting.”
“The more I read the more interesting it becomes,” he says.
“Macbeth may be a tragic hero,” he says, “but it’s hard to feel sorry for him — it’s not like Lear or Othello — it’s hard to find the humanity in him — I think we see our similarities and become appalled at our own identification with him.”
Macbeth, Thane of Glamis, one of King Duncan’s greatest war captains, returns from battle and encounters three witches in Birnham Wood (we all remember “double, double, toil and trouble.”)
A prophecy is given to them: Macbeth is hailed as Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and King; Banquo is hailed as the father of kings to come.
Both men nervously laugh off the prophecies until Lady Macbeth steps in.
“Harland seems to know this play very thoroughly and deeply,” says Corkins.
“One of the wise things to do is to cast smart people,” laughs Meltzer. “Aside from talent, smart is important.”
Some of the other “smart” cast members returning to the Colonial’s Shakespeare-in-the-Park this year are Marion Markham who’ll have dual roles as Witch 1 and Lady Macduff; Ed Franklin as the doctor and Duncan; Enrique Bravo as Banquo and Seyton; Jamie Dufault as Malcolm, and Paul Romero as Ross and Porter. Veteran child actor Dylan Temel will play the role of Macduff’s son and Fleance.
Meltzer and the actors are sitting in the shade of a large, leafy tree near the park’s goldfish pond, taking a lunch break and going over the scene they had just rehearsed. The stage crew is busy building the stage on one side and two young fathers are playing whiffle ball with their young sons on another.
Shortly before the break, a small band of teenagers paused, mesmerized as they watched the play, whose program promises to “transport you in time and place as mystery and magic, action-packed battle, tragic loss and triumphant revenge take center stage.”
“That’s awesome,” shouted one of the teens when the scene — involving Lady Macbeth screaming and hurling chairs — came to an end.
The Colonial Theater’s production of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth marks the company’s 21st season of free Shakespeare in the Park. The play opens July 11, and closes July 29 with performances Tuesdays through Sundays at 8 p.m.

So come join us, and experience Shakespeare at his best in the beautiful setting of Westerly’s Wilcox Park.  Bring a blanket or a chair, maybe a picnic, and most important of all, yourself.  Relax under the open sky while we give you an evening to remember, and all with NO ADMISSION CHARGE!

So while you’re here, browse our site.  Look at pictures from past performances, read some of our reviews, join our mailing list, and please give as generously as you can to help support this wonderful production, offered to all free of charge.  The Colonial Theatre is a non-profit educational and cultural institution, and all donations are fully tax-deductible.

We’re looking forward to seeing you in the park this summer, enjoying a performance(and feel free to come to as many performances as you’d like) of The Tempest.