CONWAY — The Community Arts Association of Conway, formerly known as the Conway Community Arts Association, and The Lantern Theatre will present William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth in August.
Showtimes will be at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 10 and 11 and again Aug. 16-18 in St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Parish Hall, 925 Mitchell St.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for children ages 5-12 and are available online at thelanterntheatre.com. This production is rated PG-13 as a result of violence and adult themes.
Macbeth is directed by Darby Burdine of Conway.
“I suggested this play to the selection committee and told them I would like to direct it. I have two degrees in English and teach theater, so I thought I would be qualified to direct this play,” Burdine said.
“Macbeth was the first play I ever saw as a kid, maybe in seventh or eighth grade. I saw it at the Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas,” said Burdine, who teaches at Bigelow High School.
“Macbeth is a tragedy, one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies. We see murder and ambition collide in this epic tale of political ambition turned wrong,” she said.
“I’ve set it in modern-day times,” she said. “It’s told in a political setting. … That’s really all I can say about it. The actors dress in modern-day clothes.
“This is a big cast. I think there are 17 in the cast; several are double-cast. We have some new faces but some that will be recognized from past performances. A lot of them have Shakespeare experience.”
Appearing as the principal characters are as follows:
• Shua Miller of Conway appears as Macbeth, a successful soldier in King Duncan’s army who is led to wicked thoughts by the prophecies of the three witches and tempted into murder by his ambitious wife to fulfill his desire to be King of Scotland.
“I have never played Macbeth before. I have been in other Shakespeare productions … played other kings, but never Macbeth,” said Miller, who is a longtime actor and director in the Conway arts community.
“Macbeth has always been a dream role for me … that’s why I auditioned,” said Miller, who is vice president of the CAAC Board of Directors. “I thought I might never get to play him.
“I am having a really good time with this.”
• Claudia Moskova-Creemens of Little Rock portrays Lady Macbeth, who urges her husband to kill Duncan and seize the crown. Fraught with guilt, Lady Macbeth eventually follows Macbeth into madness.
This is Moskova-Creemens’ first time to perform at The Lantern and her first time to perform in Macbeth. However, she has appeared onstage in community theaters throughout central Arkansas and in several Shakespearian productions, including, most recently, Twelfth Night at The Royal Theatre in Benton.
“It is an absolute dream to be able to tackle this role of Lady Macbeth,” Moskova-Creemens said. “I am having the best time with this incredibly challenging role.
“This play is about power and how power can corrupt … about what the desire for power can allow us to do.”
• Jeff Ward of Conway plays Macduff, a Scottish nobleman who opposes Macbeth’s kingship and seeks vengeance for Macbeth’s murder of Macduff’s wife and young son.
“I did this play when I was a student at the University of Central Arkansas,” said Ward, who graduated from UCA in 1997 with a degree in theater. “I played Macbeth.
“We are setting this play a little differently. We might be stockbrokers … or politicians, … but still, Macbeth kills everybody, … and in the end, I kill him.”
• Peggy Cromwell of Maumelle appears as Banquo, a general in Duncan’s army whose children, according to the witches’ prophecy, will inherit the Scottish throne. Banquo is ambitious, but he does not murder and betray others as Macbeth does.
“I have not acted in a Shakespeare play before, but I taught Shakespeare for 28 years,” said Cromwell, who is a deacon at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church and a retired teacher from the Benton School District.
“This is also the first time I have appeared in a production with The Lantern Theatre. I’ve always been with the Maumelle Players,” she said.
“I play Banquo, which is traditionally a male character. But in this production, Banquo is a woman. Banquo is a general in the army and a good friend of Macbeth. At the beginning of the play, Banquo is with Macbeth as he encounters the first witch. As the play progresses, Macbeth begins to plot against Banquo,” Cromwell said.
“This version of Macbeth is presented in a business setting,” she said. “We may be officers in the business, maybe politicians. … It’s hard to know.
“But I am enjoying it very much. It is a pleasure to work with this group of actors.”
• Kris Pistole of Little Rock plays the first witch.
“I guess you could say I am a warlock, since I’m a male playing a witch rather than a female,” he said, smiling. “All three of us witches are lowly assistants. Traditionally, witches are on the outside of society … ‘filthy, ugly hags.’ We’re more modern in this version, but still, we’re the lowest on the totem pole, looked down upon … but we know everything.”
Pistole is a 2011 University of Central Arkansas graduate with a degree in film and theater. He spent three years in Los Angeles, where he worked as a production assistant. He said he appeared in a “Shakespeare Spectacular” in 2010, which was a “spooky” Shakespeare production presented as a Halloween show.
• Sarah Rawlinson of North Little Rock portrays the second witch.
“In this modern-day version of Macbeth, the three witches might be considered as
secretaries, I guess. People don’t pay much attention to us, but we overhear everything,” she said.
“I’m really happy to have the opportunity to be in this show,” she said. “It’s really exciting.
“I have been in one other Shakespeare play. I was a fairy in A Midsummer’s Night Dream when I was a student at Arkansas State University-Beebe.”
Rawlinson graduated in 2014 from UCA with a degree in creative writing.
• Kathy Busch of Russellville appears as the third witch and a gentlewoman to Lady Macbeth.
“I was actually in Macbeth when I was 13. I played the first witch in a production at Dardanelle High School,” said Busch, who is a junior theater major at Missouri State University in Springfield.
“I’ve added a double major at college. I’m now double-majoring in English education. I’ve taken a graduate-level Shakespeare course, so I’ve been studying his plays. I am so excited for this opportunity to be in Macbeth. From an academic perspective, I hope to be able to learn from this play so I can teach Shakespeare to make it relevant to today’s times,” she said.
“In this production, we are set in the 1980-’90s, in a modern political context. We wear modern-day clothing. As the three witches, we may be sitting at a conference table,” Busch said.
“My character is a bad witch,” she said. “She helps mastermind Macbeth’s eventual demise.
“I’m having great fun with this. I’m working with a great group of people.”
Other cast members include the following:
• Doug Morris of Austin is Duncan, the good king of Scotland who is murdered by Macbeth.
• Gabrielle Neafsey of North Little Rock plays Malcolm, the son of Duncan who is restored as the rightful king of Scotland.
• Brady Thomas of Bigelow is Donalbain, Duncan’s son and Malcolm’s younger brother. Thomas also plays a messenger.
• Morgan Grey of Conway portrays Ross, a Scottish nobleman.
• Ivy McGrew of Petit Jean plays Lennox, a Scottish nobleman.
• Kevin Oliver plays Angus, a Scottish nobleman, and the first murderer.
• Rachel McKee of Conway appears as Lady Macduff, the wife of Macduff who serves as a contrast to Lady Macbeth.
• Avery Steadham, 14, of Conway plays the son of Macduff and also Fleance, a son of Banquo.
• Jessica “Jazz” Summers of Little Rock portrays Hecate, a doctor, and the second murderer. Hecate is the goddess of witchcraft who helps the three witches work their mischief on Macbeth.
• Len Schlientz of Conway plays the porter, who is a drunken doorman of Macbeth’s castle.
Vera Lambert, a sophomore at UCA, is the stage manager. Other crew members include Sydney Stoner of Conway, costume designer; Stephanie Cook of Conway, makeup; Chris Noyes of Conway, set designer; Victoria Hernandez of Russellville, props; and McKee, hair and makeup.