Oh Puck - I Screwed Up!

I did something very bad last night.
But we believe we rectified it.
What did I do?
I’ll lead up to it.

Yesterday I received an email from a friend I do not see very often. It’s a shame I do not see him, as he lives in the city. (Chalk it up to busy schedules, laziness, etc. - you know how it goes.) He had an extra ticket to TimeLine Theatre’s world premiere production, Not Enough Air. It had been short notice, as in, “What are you doing tonight?” Not wanting to miss the opportunity to see a live show for free as well as catch up with NutTree, I hurried through my errands (which did not take nearly as long as I anticipated, thank goodness) and met him at the show.

As we waited for the black out in the little black box theatre space, NutTree and I caught up on life. He told me he started reading Peter Pan’s NeverWorld, only to realize three chapters in that it would probably behoove him to read Peter and Wendy first. He received a beautiful copy for Xmas and he’s been taking it slow, savoring the short but bittersweet tale of Barrie. Then he can properly move on to mine. But enough about Pan.

Our dialogue flowed in the way that conversations do. Eventually I told him about the new friend Bart and I have made (let’s call him Banky) because Banky, NutTree and I all like the music of Phish. (Although I’m not as “into” them as most, or as much as I had been at one time.) I related how during one of Banky’s visits, Lage and Bart (who are not so much into Phish) became quite freaked out by their song My Friend, My Friend which includes the line “…he’s got a knife” and does indeed become rather unnerving. NutTree knew precisely why I mentioned it, having been equally freaked with him too many moons ago at Knox College when he brought Phish to our group of friends.

Flowing ever talkatively onward, we discovered that he had also been to the Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s recent production of Amadeus, which I posted about here. We relished aloud at all the marvels - the costumes, the acting… and NutTree whole-heartedly agreed Salieri (actor Robert Sella) “had” us from the first anguished cry of “MOZART!” I went on to say how nearly everything Chicago Shakespeare does is top notch and amazingly crafted. I said how Bart and I have Season Tickets…and…. and… and… ok, here’s the bad thing. Yes, I did it. I said, “Bart and I are seeing their Macbeth in couple weeks.” EEK! I immediately, clichédly cupped my mouth and asked, “What did I just DO?” (For those of you not familiar with theatrical traditions, it is the utmost bad luck to say that name in a theatre if the Bard’s play is not in production. It is to be referred to as The Scottish Play. Some even go as far as not to say the name Macbeth in any situation other than a current production or classroom setting.) NutTree, no stranger to theatre himself, looked half horrified and half amused. “What do I DO?” I panicked.

NutTree didn’t have an immediate answer, and I scoured my brain to come up with a solution. Then, NutTree said, “My friend, my friend, he’s got a knife is this a dagger I see before me?” (The “dagger” line is from the Scottish play, if you’re not aware.) I then added, “In the show BlackAdder two actors dispel it by saying, I think, somehting like, ‘Hot potato off the shores Puck will make amends!’”

NutTree grinned and chuckled and said, “Pete, I think we just counteracted it. We’ll be fine.”

Fortunately, nothing went wrong as far as we could tell. And we were treated to a stunning bit of theatre. I adored the sound design, by Andrew Hansen. Bravo! All the elements of the play proved to be engaging. But the sound I found nothing short of brilliant, the glue which held all the other elements in place. I recommend Masha Obolensky's Not Enough Air highly. Bravi! I plan to see it again for all of its nuances. And I think Bart will appreciate it very much.

In my defense (as if I deserved any) I have been saying Macbeth unabashedly and freely quite a bit lately, considering that we are seeing the show very soon and Sunshine is currently studying and performing Lady Scottish Play. By the way, she has had quite astonishing insights into the play and the Lady. I urge you to read them:

I'm Bringing Unsexing Back: My Lady M
CSI Shakespeare: Investigating Lady Macbeth's Death

But the really sad part? This is not my first offense of this crime.

Awaiting the tomato storm.

UPDATE: Upon seeing this, Sunshine made her own post and details the Curse of the Scottish Play. Did You Just Say the M Word? Spin, Spit, Curse, and Knock She also posted the clip from BlackAdder that I spoke of in this post. :)