"Macbeth": Closing Night of Cambridge Shakespeare Festival

Not surprisingly, the last performance of the 2007 Cambridge Shakespeare Festival was packed. I'm sure attendance suffered during the festival's twelve week run with the rainy, cold weather. Saturday evening was beautiful, 70° and clear, and all the seats were taken by the time we arrived. Luckily they pushed back "the stage"—the line of demarkation running from an array of candles, above, to a supply of bowls, used alternately to mix the witches' brew, wash a traveler's face and scrub the blood from the Macbeths' hands—to allow more people to sit on the grass. We arrived late enough to get a place right in front. Having foreseen this issue, we were armed with a blanket (and wine of course).

Oh, yes the play. Good, but not the best of the series. Perhaps Shakespeare's comedies just work better for outdoor, summer theater. "Romeo and Juliet" and "Macbeth" were our least favorites, while "Taming of the Shrew", "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Much Ado About Nothing" were very impressive.