The New York Times-20080127-This -Macbeth- Goes for the Gore- -Review-

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This 'Macbeth' Goes for the Gore; [Review]

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Out, damn'd spot! Out, I say! has never had quite this much resonance. Pity the poor crew at the Two River Theater doing the cleanup that surely follows each performance of a new, unrelentingly bloody Macbeth, on stage in Red Bank through Feb. 10. Conceived and directed by Teller, the quieter half of the comedy-magic team Penn and Teller, and Aaron Posner, Two River's artistic director, the show oozes, drips and squirts forth a river of crimson horror.

This must be fun, one presumes, for the large and talented cast melodramatically sporting the ketchup-colored goop, but how about the backstage minions who have to make stage, costumes and actors pristine before the next blood bath?

Taking its cue from the Grand Guignol tradition and with magic tricks courtesy of Teller, the play, co-produced with the Folger Theater in Washington, revels in the ghoulish and the bizarre. When one of the Weird Sisters is run through with a sword, the body disappears into thin air. Lady Macbeth, in her sleepwalking scene, bloodies herself with a mere swipe of her hand.

As the last of the four so-called great tragedies and perhaps the darkest, Macbeth is also one of the shortest of Shakespeare's plays. The co-directors Teller and Posner have paced the performance at a clip, injecting the drama with a coursing inevitability that leaves free will in the lurch.

Mr. Posner has been quoted as saying that Macbeth often flounders under the weight of its own self-importance. By casting Ian Merrill Peakes as the equivocating, tormented villain-hero and Kate Eastwood Norris as his unsexed, demonically possessed wife, he has avoided portentiousness and added a certain humane banality. The muscular, athletic Mr. Peakes (his swordplay, choreographed by Dale Anthony Girard, is hair-raising) uses his self-conscious sneer and habit of nervously scratching his head and thigh to suggest a man who is uncomfortable in his role as evil incarnate.

Ms. Norris is a bit too cool as the lovely Lady Macbeth, never finding that visceral zest for murder necessary to inspire her weaker, guilt-ridden husband.

Among the ancillary players, Paul Morella is compelling as Banquo, whose encounter with the Weird Sisters, dressed in macabre finery by Devon Painter and played chillingly by Dan Hodge, Cleo House and Eric Hissom, starts Macbeth on his murderous road to the kingship. Cody Nickell is a heartsick Macduff, spurred to revenge after his wife and son (Karen Peakes and Jake Tavill) are brutally dispatched by Macbeth's henchmen. As Malcolm, Duncan's eldest son and surviving heir to the throne of Scotland, Scott Kerns grows in stature as his role changes.

Daniel Conway has designed a setting, strikingly lighted by Thom Weaver, that references both Louise Nevelson and Diego Giacometti in its sculptural forms. It's a knockout. So is the brilliant onstage percussion of Kenny Wollesen. Then there's the Knock-knock! Who's there? routine of Eric Hissom as the Porter. Even if Shakespeare's bumbling porters leave you cold, this splash of sunshine in an evening shrouded in red and black proves a welcome diversion.

Macbeth is at Two River Theater Company, 21 Bridge Avenue, Red Bank, through Feb. 17. Information: (732) 345-1400 or at www.trtc.org.

[Illustration]PHOTO: PAGING 'CARRIE': As Lady Macbeth, Kate Eastwood Norris is soaked in blood. (PHOTOGRAPH BY T. CHARLES ERICKSON)