Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department faculty members and alums are collaborating on a new comedy, Macbeth by the Sea, which is headed for the prestigious Edinburgh Festival Fringe for a two-week run August 4 through 19. Before they bring their send-up of Shakespeare’s “Scottish Play” to Scotland, they’ll preview the show at Otherworld Theatre, located at 3914 N. Clark in Chicago. The Chicago previews run July 20 through 23 – Thursday-Saturday at 7 PM and Sunday at 2 PM. For tickets to the Chicago performances ($10 or pay what you can), click here.
Ric Walker
Wendi Weber
Joe Janes
The play is written by Theatre Department faculty member Joe Janes. The cast includes Theatre Department faculty members Ric Walker and Wendi Weber as well as Janes.
Andrea J. Dymond
Frances Maggio
David Woolley
Gabby Rooney
Anna Rogers
The show is directed by Theatre Department faculty member Andrea J. Dymond. The creative team includes Theatre Department faculty members Frances Maggio and David Woolley, who are the costume designer and stage combat director respectively. Also on the production team are Columbia College alums Gabby Rooney ’22, who graduated with a double BA in Theatre Directing from the Theatre Department and Entertainment Industry Marketing from the Columbia College Chicago Business and Entrepreneurship Department, and Anna Rogers ’21, who graduated with a BA in Traditional Animation from the Columbia College Chicago Interactive Arts and Media Department. Rooney and Rogers are the show’s stage manager and associate costume designer respectively.
Joe Janes (left) and Ric Walker in rehearsal for “Macbeth by the Sea.”
In Janes’ spoof, Shakespeare’s tragic power couple, the Macbeths, have murdered the king and ascended to the throne. Good friend Banquo has been killed, too. Banquo’s battered spirit disrupts a celebration for the royal couple. Worried that her husband’s stressful hallucinations will thwart their reign, Lady Macbeth orders a relaxing weekend at The Happy Hearts Seaside Resort. Will the weight of their evil deeds doom their legacy? Some witches might have something to say about it.
Ric Walker and Joe Janes in “Macbeth by the Sea.”
Ric Walker in rehearsal for “Macbeth by the Sea,”
Combining raucous physical theatre with skewering the bard, the play comically explores the themes of nepotism versus raw ambition and the merits of couples massages, karaoke, and Bon Jovi.
