Word: macbeths
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...should The Crimson review campus theater productions? The recent criticism of The Crimson's Oct. 24 review of Macbeth brought this controversy to a head. Many letters criticized the review of the lead actor's performance, deeming the review too personal, overly critical or too harsh...
...author must justify what he or she says with examples and facts. In reading The Crimson's arts coverage and speaking with the arts editors, I am impressed that this need for justification is put in the forefront of the review process. A very close examination of the Macbeth review (which, understandably, is not the way most people read the newspaper) showed that what seemed on the surface to be personal criticisms were in fact meticulously backed up by scenes and lines from the play. While the Macbeth review was very close to the boundary of how critical coverage should...
...know how to approach an assessment of it. Enacted entirely in Zulu by performers in traditional Zulu attire, Umabatha* is at once a history lesson, a dance-and-music spectacular, a celebration of Zulu culture and--last and, theoretically, most important--a reworking of Shakespeare's famous tragedy Macbeth...
Even more unjust is to say that the lead performance "spoiled" anything other than Mandel's unyielding notions of what Macbeth should be. In fact, what she takes such issue with in Colapinto's performance as "petulant muttering," his casual attitude as if "enjoying a private joke," fit rather well with the chosen interpretation; to say that his performance "prevents the production from generating fear and explosive emotion which the play is intended to evoke" is to say that there is a right or wrong way to perform it, which has no strong basis in the idea of interpretation itself...
Colapinto's performance balance quite well with Edith (not Emily) Bishop's shrewish portrayal of Lady Macbeth. Her performance was, as Mandel points out, exquisite, but she deserved far more praise than Mandel gave her. To eliminate Colapinto from Mandel's list of quality elements of the show, to attack his work as "poor judgment or sheer incompetence," and to downplay Bishop's excellence, is wrong. Mandel is welcome to her opinion, but the mean-spirited tone of the article was both unfair and unnecessary; the highlighted quotes and headlines only helped Mandel blame any and all problems with...