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2019 Cooking Up A Confused McBeth, “Scotland,

4th,
December PA” Makes A Mess Of Crime & Punishment

ased on “Scotland, PA,” want one more night eatin’
| By Brad Balfour tions with the situation: “You
William Morrissette’s 2001 from cans?” she sings. “You
EXAMINER Bindie cult film, this off- could be someone makin’ great
Broadway production sees the big plans.” And in “Everybody’s
action moved from the serious Hungry,” Mac concurs, “Time

IRISH 1600stothestonedout1970s,butis to get in on the chase/Shoutin’
actually thoroughly relevant in this to the cosmos/Like I own the
ear of ambition at the expense of whole damn place.”
good sense. In this musical riff on Those frustrations result in a
“Macbeth,” Shakespeare’s story of nefarious though justified crim-
politicalpowerplaysgoneawrygets inal response. Once murder
re-imagined as a humorous com- takes place — though uninten-
mentary on greed and fast-food tionally — the ascent and inex-
mania. In this Pennsylvania town orable descent of Mac and his
(anactualplace,whoknew),slacker mate result. Along the way, lit-
Joe McBeth, known as Mac (played tle side character developments
by slightly awry Ryan McCartan, occur — some enhancing the
“Heathers — story, some not so much.
TheMusical”),fieldshisinnovations When the steps to hamburg-
forstrugglingburgerjointDuncan’s er heaven and franchise possi- Shakespeare’s Macduff — and transposition doesn’t always Offering a balance between
(like a drive-through window — bilities —and the incumbent unlike the movie’s detective make it quite make sense. silly and serious, it makes its
canyoubelievethat!)toassholeboss riches — lead to crime, the prin- (who was played by But one of the best twists to points with a modesty not quite
Duncan (Jeb Brown, “Beautiful”) cipals try to place blame else- Christopher Walken) — this this weirdo update that befitting a show that is targeting
who obviously squashes them. But where. A homeless man (David one’s a woman. So when detec- McBeth’s three witches, who Broadway. That’s more than
Pat, Mac’s wife (Taylor Iman Jones, Rossmer), gets framed for tive McDuff (Megan Lawrence) add a touch of the creepy in the can be said for Shakespeare,
“Groundhog Day”), who also Duncan’s murder. So does appears, she happens to be, to original, are transformed here whose overt efforts at psycho-
works there, does mind. And she Duncan’s son Malcolm (Will no one surprise, a vegetarian into pot-puffing hippies — logical profundity got uninten-
ain’ttakingitlyingdown. Meyers), a high school student which further aligns the story Jessie, Hector, and Stacey tionally over-the-top without
This version reworks who’d rather play football (for within the realm of burger (Alysha Umphress, Kaleb having a stoner or two in the
McBeth’s dramatic plot points secret reasons) than inherit the empire building rather than in Wells, and Wonu Ogunfowora) story line. For anyone who
into a criminalized song-&- fast-food “kingdom.” Though an actual kingdom like the clas- an amusing set of narrators loves a show looking for its cult,
dance dramedy. Such hybrid this Malcolm tracks nicely with sic play. who suffer from a perpetual catch this before it closes in any
predecessors as “Little Shop of the one in “Macbeth,” this With the burger biz spot- case of the munchies. case. C
Horrors” and “Sweeney Todd” “Banko” (Jay Armstrong lighted this is a case study in
were also based on other media Johnson) doesn’t really line up ambition gone awry — not only
properties and they also used with Banquo. Here, a dim but drawing on Big Will’s MacBeth
murder as a musical comedy ingratiating co-worker of the but also referencing the actual
device, but they were base on McBeths called Banko — that is, story of macDonald’s evolution
more traditional music heard in Anthony Banconi — is tricked from a local burger joint to the
stage productions. Well-sung into providing them an alibi. corporate colossus it became.
and acted by a capable cast who That in turn generates a num- Though entertaining,
generally avoids overplaying ber called “Kick-Ass Party,” in “Scotland, PA” suffers from
the over-the-top characters, which he adopts his full long- some structural missteps and
Composer Adam Gwon’s haired surfer-dudeism to make lots of logical lapses such how
music and lyrics have a classic- it happen. they go from hatred to murder.
rock core that drives them. When the detective who is Maybe that’s because the transi-
For example, in “What finally sent to investigate arrives tion from such a serious
We’ve Got,” The smoky-voiced at the end of Act 1, Peg McDuff Shakespearean classic to this
Jones as Pat reveals her frustra- only tangentially relates to sometimes silly, over-the-top
Scotland, PA
Closing Date: Dec. 8, 2019
Laura Pels Theater
(at the Harold & Miriam Steinberg Center for Theater)
111 W. 46th St.
(212) 719-1300

Music & Lyrics: Adam Gwon
Book: Michael Mitnick
Director: Lonny Price
Choreographer: Josh Rhodes

Cast: Jeb Brown (Duncan), Jay Armstrong Johnson (Banko), Taylor Iman Jones (Pat),
Megan Lawrence (McDuff), Ryan McCartan (Mac), Will Meyers (Malcolm), Stacey
Wonu Ogunfowara, Doug David Rossmer, Jessie Alysha Umphress, Hector Kaleb
Wells