"Fleetwood Macbeth" Disappoints at The Public House Theatre

First off, in the grand scheme of things, “Fleetwood Macbeth” was a little weak. But it is a storefront, non-equity theatre at a cheap ticket price, so for the money, you do get some good laughs and the premise of using Fleetwood Mac music with Shakespeare was very cool. Standout performances were Timmy Baron, who played Banky. He stole the show - he was absolutely hysterical even in non-scripted material. Aaron Sarka, who played the King and MacDuff was also pretty good, especially since he had to play two completely different parts.

The witches were ok but there could have been more. They seemed nervous, and seemed to hold back. Their voices were alright, but not out of the park to do all the harmonic work that Fleetwood Mac is known for. I also am not sure what the overall message of the show was. They were using Macbeth as the backdrop, but the story was about a radio station that didn't want to follow the rules of the FCC.

The 2 main characters were ok. One guy sounded like he could have been in Fleetwood Mac. It also took me a few songs to figure out how to take the show, which is something you need to establish right away when you direct things because when you read the title “Fleetwood Macbeth,” I thought I was going to see something serious using Fleetwood Mac's music, because Macbeth is a Shakespearean Tragedy. But this was funny, so I wonder why they didn't use one of his comedies. It was confusing and sets up different expectations, but I suspect you have to be complimentary about this, so I would focus on Banky's standout.

One of the highlights was the King's almost strip tease performance to “Say You Love Me.” He performed it with an Elvis voice, but was asking Lady Macbeth for her to "Say You Love Me" while he stripped for her. “Never Going Back Again,” done with 2 guys drinking beer and smoking pot, was hysterical. The “Dreams” sequence was cool with the witches using their shawls and dancing, but again, it would have been better if the people who played them were stronger. Also, I am surprised they didn't use more or Stevie Nicks’ music in general considering, again, they were using Macbeth and that play has 3 witches as characters.

“Rhiannon,” “Gold Dust Woman,” and “Sisters of The Moon” were missed opportunities for witch sequences or comic dream moments. They only used “Dreams” in the show; although they played others during scene change music. They also only performed “Tusk” from that album and ignored everything else.

So, if you're a Fleetwood Mac fan, they didn't incorporate a lot of their music outside of just some selected hits. But, overall, the show was amusing.