Theater

Μαςβετh: I Want it Frat Way is the hauntingly hilarious “reality show” based on the international smash hit by William Shakespeare co-directed by Laura Boutros and Carl Erez, DANM (Digital Arts and New Media) Future Stages MFA students. The treachery begins as Sigma Kappa Tau’s Treasurer, Macbeth, returns from the beer pong battle of the century, and is greeted by a trio of witches (The Producers of “I Want it Frat Way”) who begin in his mind a plot to overthrow Sigma’s President and take the position for himself. Over the ensuing play, chaos and calamity befall the fraternity as they navigate the ins and outs of Greek life on reality television.

Two days before the start of the quarter, my housemate and the Artistic Director of the barn, Sequoia Schirmer, came to me with the idea to direct Macbeth. I gave it about two seconds of thought before hopping on board. When staring down the barrel of such an ominous task, I decided a drink
was in order, and then a blessing walked by. What blessing? My Co-Director, Carl Erez who stumbled into this play much the same (although decidedly more sober), for which I am most grateful. Our lovely cast and crew have worked diligently through the curse of Macbeth, as our show has moved date and setting while the Barn Theater undergoes repair and have come out the other side with a fervent desire to show you Macbeth as you’ve never seen it before. (Shakespeare purists be damned!) My pandemic comfort show, Jersey Shore, became a framework, and the conspiring world of college fraternities, the setting for our nobles. The Sigma Kappa Tau (SKT) house is beset with strife as (literal) backstabbing, gossip, and paranoia strike our (not so) humble brothers. The three producers of I Want It Frat Way (Girlboss, Gatekeep, Gaslight) lead SKT’s Macbeth down a path of betrayal, where brother fights against brother, and no amount of homoerotic subtext can keep them alive.