Youngstown Playhouse does stylish ‘Macbeth’

October 17, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

It’s too bad the Youngstown Playhouse doesn’t sell popcorn. The wildly, flamboyantly ambitious Michael Dempsey production of “Macbeth” that opened Friday night is the community theater equivalent of a Hollywood spectacle. And nothing tastes better with blockbuster entertainment than a super-sized bag of buttery goodness.

The fact that the Playhouse elected to mount a theatrical undertaking of such jaw-dropping magnitude is impressive enough. The fact that they — spearheaded by Dempsey’s singular, uncompromising vision of “the Scottish play” — mostly pull it off is something close to a miracle.

For starters, I’ve rarely seen a local production as smart-looking and stylish as the YP “Macbeth.” Set designer Leslie Brown, technical directors Jim Lybarger and Johnny Pecano and wardrobe mistress Cherie Stebner all do yeoman work here, and the various — and inordinately complex — tech components (Scott Sutton’s wonderfully atmospheric lightning, Stephen Ley’s deliciously creepy sound effects and some frankly amazing “apparitions” designed by Anika Peyton) are practically Broadway caliber.

Shakespeare presents so many risks and challenges that it’s not surprising few small-town companies dare to tackle the Bard. Besides having to deal with the perception that Shakespeare is “boring” and incomprehensible to layman ears, there’s the whole matter of finding actors up to the task of handling all that gorgeous, stylized prose.

If not every member of Dempsey’s bustling ensemble is on equal grounding skill-level, it hardly matters. This is colloquial, plain-spoken Shakespeare, not the high falutin’, declamatory Brit-speak most of us remember from high school English class (and various mothball-encrusted productions endured over the years).

The decision to forgo dodgy British accents was a shrewd one. As was Dempsey’s streamlining of the text for clarity — and pacing — purposes. Though this “Macbeth” sometimes plays like a highlight reel of the Bard’s most famous tragedy (and some nuances are inevitably lost in the process), it’s as accessible and entertaining as any Shakespearean interpretation I’ve seen.

Dempsey does double-duty, not only directing but (nicely) playing the title role. Cheryl Games proves an able foil as the scheming Lady Macbeth, speaking her lines with both clarity and purpose.

Equally impressive are Chuck Kettering (Banquo), audience favorite Tom O’Donnell (splendid in all three of his roles, including the, er, deposed King Duncan) and New Castle Playhouse mainstay Jeff Carey and Liz Conrad as Macduff and Lady Macduff. There also are neat turns from William Goff, Terry Shears, Dave and Donny Wolford and Cleric Costes.

Vijay Welch’s fight choreography (with broadswords, quarterstaffs, etc.) is as impressive as Pam Sacui’s (frequent, but never gratuitous) blood effects. The YP “Macbeth” truly has it all. Witches (Conrad, Ali Cleland and Melanie Williams looking like Kit Kat Klub dancers from “Cabaret”), ghosts, a spectacularly gnarly beheading, epic-scaled battle scenes and lots and lots of uber-cool fog effects. It’s just like a budget-busting Hollywood tentpole, except you don’t have to check your brain at the door. Indulgence has rarely tasted this good.

“Macbeth” runs through next Sunday at the Youngstown Playhouse. For reservations, call 330-788-8739.