Lady Macbeth encourages Macbeth (center – Elijah Alexander, behind- Jules Willcox) Photo Credit: Craig Schwartz

Macbeth (Elijah Alexander) Photo Credit: Craig Schwartz

A Noise Within (ANW) continues its 2013-14 season with Macbeth by Shakespeare, to open on Saturday, March 15 and run through Sunday, May 11, 2014. Directed by Tony Award nominee Larry Carpenter, this marks the first time in eleven years that the company has presented The Bard’s timeless dark tragedy), which portrays the violent ambition of Macbeth and his wife, whose ascension to the Scottish throne through bloody means, ultimately causes their own demise.

Single ticket prices for Macbeth start at $34. Contact the A Noise Within box office in person, via phone at (626) 356-3100, or online at www.ANoiseWithin.org for updated pricing and seat availability.

Larry Carpenter talks about his vision: “I’ve directed a lot of Shakespeare, but this play is the one I keep returning to: fantastically well constructed, it contains some of the Bard’s absolute best poetry. Macbeth is a present tense event where the characters dance with evil forces, and my staging includes the audience as participants. I am struck by the counterpoints of barrenness (which allows evil in) and fertility (that safeguards the future of the kingdom), and by Macbeth’s driving egoism. In many ways, his narcissism and grandiosity–coupled with an unwavering ambition for power and notoriety—mirror aspects of our current American condition and character.”

Celebrant Witches (L to R - Jeremy Rabb, Thom Rivera, Amin El Gamal) Photo Credit: Craig Schwartz

Considered one of Shakespeare’s darkest and most powerful tragedies, the play dramatizes the corrosive psychological and political effects that result when evil is chosen as a means of appropriating political and personal power. Written between 1603 and 1607, Macbeth tells the story of a brave Scottish general who hears witches prophesy that one day he will become King. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and seizes the throne. Wracked with guilt and paranoia, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler as he commits ever more murders to protect himself and his reign. The bloodbath and consequent civil war that ensue swiftly sweep Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into a chasm of arrogance, madness, and death.

The cast features Elijah Alexander* and Jules Willcox* as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Alexander, best known for his role in the film Mr. and Mrs. Smith, brings extensive Shakespearean background that includes performances at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespeare Festival and California Shakespeare Festival. This is the second time he has portrayed Macbeth. Jules Willcox was seen in last fall’s Pericles as Marina at A Noise Within and can be seen in the new CBS series Friends with Better Lives and the 2012 independent film Deadline.

Other members of the cast: Thom Rivera*, Jeremy Rabb* and Amin El Gamal as celebrants, Leith Burke* as Banquo, Matt Orduna* as King Duncan, David DeSantos as MacDuff, Katie Pelensky as Lady Macduff/Donalbain, Feodor Chin* as Malcolm, Theo Taplitz as Macduff Son, Mitchell McCollum as Lennox, Abubakr Ali as Ross, Lawrence Fernandez as Angus.
* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity

This engagement of Macbeth includes a symposium with noted scholar Miranda Johnson-Haddad, who will discuss the play on Wednesday March 12 at 8:00 p.m. prior to that evening’s performance, conversations after the performance with the artists of Macbeth on Friday, April 11 at 8:00 p.m., Sunday, April 27 at 2:00 p.m. and Friday, May 9 at 8:00 p.m., and an ASL-interpreted performance on Friday may 9 at 8:00 p.m. Pay What You Will performance is Thursday, March 13 at 8:00 p.m.

A Noise Within’s 2013-14 Season concludes with Come Back, Little Sheba by William Inge (March 29- May 17).

A Noise Within is located on the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Sierra Madre Villa Avenue at 3352 East Foothill Blvd., in Pasadena.