Macbeth
at Fountain Valley

Reviewed on November 14, 2019

Raksha Rajeshmohan
Portola
Submitted for publication to OC Cappies

Fountain Valley High's Macbeth is Hauntingly Tragic
written by Raksha Rajeshmohan, a junior at Portola High School

Macbeth takes center stage, gasping for air as his blood-stained hands tremble with fear and regret for the deed he has just done. This is the first murder of many as Fountain Valley High's production of Macbeth illustrates the extent to which power can corrupt an individual.

Set in the year 2057, this modern take on the classic Shakespearean play presents a society in which climate change and disease wreak havoc on the population. With encouragement from his wife, Macbeth seizes power by murdering the king. In order to keep his power, he continues to kill those that pose a threat to his reputation, and is eventually driven to the brink of insanity.

Taking on the challenge of playing the titular role was Michael Bell, whose commanding voice and authentic emotional responses made for an incredibly realistic show. Within minutes, Bell was able to shift from sobbing hysterically to laughing almost maniacally. Subtle actor choices like twitching hands and erratic heavy breathing in moments of panic elevated the performance to a new level of intensity. Acting alongside Bell was Crystal Martin, playing Lady Macbeth. Circling the stage like a vicious hawk, Martin asserted her dominance through devious eyebrow raises and icy cold glares even as her character loomed in the background.

Driving the intense plot were the three witches: Delaney Schultz, Lacey Heustis, and Katie Bell. Their perfectly synchronized movements, body contortions, and shrill voices made for an eerie performance, and their commitment to the role was unlike any other. Given the linguistic complexity of the show, lines at times were hard to understand, and could have benefited from clearer enunciation. One actor that did particularly well with this diction was Emily Montelius, playing the role of Lady Macduff. Her scenes were understandable and executed at a pace that was easy to follow.

Perfectly tying the themes of the show together was makeup artist Vivian McDivit. As Lady Macbeth slowly succumbed to madness, her red eye shadow got darker with every scene. Blood remained prominent throughout the whole play, dripping down from Lady Macbeth's wrist after her suicide and scarring Banquo's neck as he came back to haunt Macbeth as a ghost. Combined with the bleak costumes consisting only of dark colors, the grim mood of the show was perfectly set.

Tackling an incredibly complex script, Fountain Valley High did a brilliant job of producing a haunting rendition of one of the most well known tragedies in theater.

Alyssa Gauss
Trabuco Hills
Submitted for publication to OC Cappies Facebook

Fountain Valley's Macbeth a tale of massacre and betrayal
written by Alyssa Gauss, a senior at Trabuco Hills High School

Toying with the idea of fate vs free will, Macbeth is cornered between following his moral compass or falling victim to the curse of greed. This post-apocalyptic production reveals the truth not only about our world but about humanity as well.

Michael Bell brings Macbeth to life with an understanding of the character and his motives. Bell speaks clearly with annunciation allowing the difficult Shakespeare lines easy to understand and follow. His crystal diction is paired with dramatic facial expressions and reactions helping to keep this confusing plot recognizable.

Complementing Bell is Crystal Martin depicting the role of Lady Macbeth. Walking across the stage with dignity and grace displays her immense power and strength over her husband (Michael Bell). Similar to Bell, Martin also understands her character through facial expressions and reactions. There is never a moment where Martin is out of character with the way she sneers at her enemies and mimics sadness to mask her deceitful nature.

The three weird sisters (Delaney Schultz, Lacey Heustis, and Katie Bell) are a forceful unit on stage. Bringing a stage presence unmatched by any other cast member. These three girls authoritatively communicate their challenging Shakespeare lines. Their posture enhances their character as well as their constant and connected motions as an entity.

With the exciting obstacle of a post-apocalyptic setting, the costume and make-up crews do a phenomenal job at not only staying true to the theme but also helping further the plot visually. Crystal Martin, head of costumes, exhibits different character motives through color in the costumes. She intentionally uses black to demonstrate the evil in Macbeth and browns and beiges to display innocents. Martin is also careful to avoid the use of white, except for when clothing Lady Macbeth as an attempt to disguise her destructive deceitful actions.

The make-up is used in a specific way to help further the plot of the play. The more corrupt the characters become the darker their makeup is applied. Each actor has scars drawn on there face representing their military rank. Another specific detail the make-up used to expedite the plot is in Lady Macbeth's departure when her wrists were shown to be slit explaining her gruesome death.

Fountain Valley High School declares a terrifying truth about man and the world we live in with the help of an incredible, talented, and connected cast.

Michael Sladek
Trabuco Hills
Submitted for publication to OC Cappies Facebook

Enchant your mind with Fountain Valley's magical "Macbeth"
written by Michael Sladek, a senior at Trabuco Hills High School

Macbeth follows a troubled man who has endured countless grievances throughout his time crushing a rebellion against Duncan, the King of Scotland. Traveling with close friend Banquo beside him, Macbeth is confronted by three conniving witches who offer a prophecy that Macbeth will soon become King. Macbeth is given the traumatic decision of how to handle this antagonizing information.

This mystical production is heavily anchored by each of the actors' character choices and energy throughout all five acts of the play. The actors are able to bring forth their opposing characters in a way that broadcasts the play's true meaning in a tasteful way. The mixture of the menacingly endearing sound design, the fierce and brave make-up and hairstyling, and actor's embodiment of their characters truly fueled this show into a marvelous spectacle of a show.

Portraying the daunting and dynamic titular role, Michael Bell transforms into Macbeth with ease, articulating each thought with a genuine understanding of the language. His character-driven physicality and authentic emotions push himself further into each scene with cautious, yet intentional force. On the other side of the witches' bowl is Lady Macbeth, flawlessly played by Crystal Martin. Tensions arise as the stressful situations of both royalty and death drive Macbeth and Lady Macbeth apart, and Bell and Martin attack this obstacle with a vicious, conquering grasp.

Along with those two performances, Stan Brown and Emily Montelius astound with their beautifully emotional renditions of Banquo and Lady Macduff, respectively. They both produce a sense of lovable friendliness that makes each scene they stride in much more worthwhile. Montelius, as Lady Macduff, instinctively reaches for her dead son in a heartbreakingly realistic scene that both shocks and saddens. Brown also delivers an entertainingly comedic dark side to his role later on in the play that showcased his diversity brilliantly. In addition to these two, the three witches, played by Delaney Schultz, Lacey Heustis, and Katie Bell, all stun with their unique physical movement and uniform chanting that gave me chills. They each encompassed the mentality of a witch and executed it in such a stylish manner.

Another key factor to this show's fantastic creativity was its extraordinary sound design. Derived from a post-apocalyptic idea, the sound design hands out a gripping tale throughout the play that is told strictly from music and sound effects. Each simple sound effect plays a part in the bigger picture of the play and brings raw emotion to each scene.

Fountain Valley's "Macbeth" amazes with its touching story of a man with simply too much on his plate.