OKC theater puts the spurs to 'Macbeth' with Wild West setting in Land Run-era Oklahoma

I'll reckon you've never seen "Macbeth," quite like this.

Herding its 40th anniversary season back inside its black-box theater in the Paseo Arts District and out of the sweltering summer heat, Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park hits the mark with a new production of William Shakespeare's legendary "Scottish Play" dressed up in Stetson hats and spurs and armed with pistols and barbed wire.

The Oklahoma City professional theater's new production moves the action from the windswept Scottish moors of the 11th century to the Wild West of what's now the Sooner State during the land run era of the 1880s and 1890s.

Performances of the cowboy version of "Macbeth" continue through Aug. 18 on the nonprofit performing arts organization's intimate indoor Paseo stage. Here's what you need to know about the show:

Who stars in Oklahoma Shakespeare's cowboy version of 'Macbeth?'

The Sooner State-specific reimagining of "Macbeth" is the inaugural production from the new Emerging Artists Collective of Oklahoma Shakespeare, which aims to provide opportunities for young professionals to craft bold, passionate interpretations of classical theater.

For many years, the venerable company has successfully mined the student and new alumni ranks of local universities for acting talent. And "Macbeth" is no different: Justin Marlow and Bell Reeves conjure a potent yet poisonous chemistry as the power-hungry title character and his scheming wife , while Paxton Kliewer brings a sardonic charisma to the ill-fated Banquo.

Native Texan Spencer Morgan, a University of Oklahoma senior, makes a mighty fine impression playing the heroic Macduff in his Oklahoma Shakespeare debut. Violence and intimacy coordinator Kris Kuss deserves a hat tip for staging a final showdown between Macbeth and Macduff worthy of a high-noon face-off at the O.K. Corral .

But the goal with the Emerging Artists Collective is to make space for younger artists to take on leadership roles in the creative process, and that includes coming up with the clever notion to restage "Macbeth" as a high-stakes Western saga.

Three emerging directors — Marlow, Reeves and Dillon Rasberry, who previously directed Oklahoma Shakespeare's 2023 holiday production of "Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker" — are helming the show as founding members of the collective, and they keep The Bard's tragic tale of ambition, murder and madness galloping toward its bloody conclusion.

The trio also collaborated as the show's scenic designers, cannily using roughly hewn corrugated metal and weathered wooden panels to set the stage for "Scotland Ranch," while simple props like an old-fashioned water pump, wooden bucket and tree stump chair add to the frontier vibe. Arguably, they take the minimalist approach a little too far by neglecting to pull out so much as a twig to make Birnam Wood move.

Rasberry also worked as the sound designer on the production, filling the sinisterly quiet prairie air with noise from chirping crickets, shrieking owls and ominous thunder.

How does 'Macbeth' translate to a Wild West setting?

Several other emerging artists worked behind the scenes of Oklahoma Shakespeare's new Old West take on "Macbeth," too, including costume designer Anwen Wenger , who uses pearl-snap shirts, vests, cowboy boots and key accessories like a floor-length duster coat, an ornate fringed jacket and a fancy turquoise necklace to not only put audiences in the proper time and place but also give them insight into the characters' psyches.

As with Oscar winner Joel Coen's 2021 film adaptation "The Tragedy of Macbeth," Oklahoma Shakespeare's take on the politically charged drama features a singular, extra-creepy witch instead of the traditional three "Weird Sisters ."

Versatile local performer Jacey Nichole plays the strange supernatural figure whose powerful prophecies set Macbeth on a path to glory that leads instead to destruction. Working with Wenger and movement coordinator Natasha Abu-Fadel, the actress creates an eeriely enigmatic version of a witch, who seemingly sweeps in off the forsaken plains in a devastating whirlwind of double-tongued promises and ill intent.

A Pawhuska native and recent Oklahoma City University graduate, dramaturge Elise Bear, who hails from the Osage Nation and Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma, brings a sharp Indigenous insight to Shakespeare's classic tale of a man's greedy determination to seize his heart's deepest, darkest desires, no matter the cost.

Although not every plot point aligns perfectly, moving "Macbeth" to seized tribal lands in what's now Oklahoma in the Land Run era proves an astute choice, as the Wild West setting lends an air of lawlessness, danger and desperation to the storytelling.

Plus, who knew that The Bard's famously keen dialogue would sound so good with an Oklahoma drawl?

'Macbeth'

• When: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Aug. 18.

• Where: Inside Oklahoma Shakespeare's black-box theater, 2920 Paseo.

• Tickets and information: https://www.okshakes.org .

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Shakespeare rustles up compelling cowboy version 'Macbeth'