You don’t want to miss “MACBITCHES” at the Unicorn Theatre in downtown KC.
This dark comedy stars Hannah Elizabeth Freeman who plays the protagonist, Hailey, a freshman who scored the lead role in their university’s production of “Macbeth.” Naturally, all of the upper-class women in the theater department seeth with jealous rage.
In an attempt to break Hailey down, four of the older girls invite her to hang out and partake in an evening of drinking.
“Dynamically, it’s a really interesting story,” said Director Sidonie Garrett. “We are looking at these five women, all of whom have their own issues, their own problems, challenges, successes and dreams.”
Naive Hailey has no idea that a few of these new “friends” have malicious plans to sabotage her role in the play.
She is joined by Rachel (Leah Dalrymple), a senior who is seemingly the “Regina George” of the group. Her subordinates are Piper (Hayley Johnson), Cam (Un Joo Christopher) and Lexi (Erin Viets).
This show shocked me in so many ways. The five actresses were all so uniquely talented, yet all shared the same likable “star quality” that kept the audience captivated.
Right from the start, you see the dynamics of these characters and how there is a clear hierarchy between all of them.
“It’s sort of about all levels of society in that way. There are people who succeed at everything,” Garrett said. “What happens when they don’t?”
Throughout the night, they gossip about the entire department as they heavily drink. The drunk conversations lead to secrets being spilled and heated disputes between characters.
One actress in particular stood out to me. Erin Viets played the closest friend to Rachel out of the others. Viets caught my attention with every line and facial expression.
Although the show is Shakespeare-centered, college students can relate to the characters more than they would think.
“Shakespeare is important to college kids because he’s a staple in theatrical history,” said UMKC freshman Katie Hurd. “Learning and understanding his verse work is a great way to familiarize ourselves with that type of storytelling.”
I recommend this show not only if you are a theater nerd, but if you want a good laugh too.
If finances are preventing you from seeing the show, Unicorn Theater has a “pay what you can” program to make viewing accessible to all.
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