I had the most wonderful experience at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier in Chicago during my last visit to that vibrant city. I can’t believe that in the nearly 15 years I’ve been regularly visiting the Windy City, I hadn’t once attended a performance there. My daughter Sarah rectified that situation by getting us tickets to a Wednesday matinee of Macbeth in the magnificent performance space of The Yard, the newest of the three theaters at the Pier. It’s a striking, towering space, seating anywhere from 150 to 800-plus. Its nine segments of three-tiered balcony seating can be positioned in myriad formations to accommodate any stage configuration a director and set designer can dream up. For Macbeth, the balcony towers were arranged in a horseshoe shape around the main floor auditorium-style seats, facing the open proscenium stage.

Sarah had secured us seats in the very front row, left of center stage, so we were right on top of the action (though staging also brought the actors into the auditorium itself). CST offers a clever program designed to bring in younger audience members and establish long-time theatergoers: Individuals aged 18–35 may purchase up to two tickets for each production at just $20 a pop (and the tickets may be used by anyone of any age). Hosting up to 20 productions a year ranging from (of course) Shakespearean plays and classical theater to musicals, visiting international guest performances and brand-new works, the theater makes great performances available to everyone at a terrifically reasonable price.

Three large red doors dominated the set, shrouded periodically in atmospheric tendrils of fog, while high above the stage hung what co-directors and -adaptors Aaron Posner and Teller (yes, of Penn & Teller) refer to as “Hell’s Attic” or “Hell Above.”

  This is the lair of the three Weird Sisters who, in addition to their occasional scenes with Macbeth below, provide a haunting soundtrack throughout most of the play. Their voices harmonize beautifully and add wonderful depth and emotion to the play. Their master, Hecate (musician Ronnie Malley), also dwells here and provides a score consisting of percussion instrumentation that, again, complements and adds dimension to the performance.

In interviews and playbill commentary, Teller talks about how magic is inherently integral to the play (what some might call “special effects”). These elements do, indeed, induce gasps and awe, as when certain characters suddenly appear and disappear, a dagger appears in a mirror or Lady Macbeth struggles to wash damning blood from her hands. In this production the audience actually sees the hallucinations and illusions of the Macbeths rather than merely hearing them described in the lines, drawing us more deeply into their emotional states. Because we were in the first row, we had a close-up view of these magic “tricks,” and they were executed so well that we could not detect the mechanics behind them.

The actors were first-rate, and the staging, complete with clashing swords and hand-to-hand combat, maintained an entertaining pace which made the two-and-a-half-hour play fly by. What a thrilling, engaging, lively afternoon!

Macbeth continues its run at CST through June 24, and I would urge anyone to see it if they have the opportunity. On your next visit to Chicago, I would suggest you find out what’s playing at Chicago Shakespeare and see for yourself what magic they perform there.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor