Jen Clay
Staff Writer
When theater audiences prepare for a production of “Macbeth,” it’s a good bet they aren’t preparing for a night of comedy. But thanks to Canadian actor Rick Miller, audiences can finally see the lighter attributes of Shakespeare’s tragic play.
“MacHomer,” Miller’s one-man adaptation of the Bard’s famous work, casts characters from “The Simpsons” in the play’s tragedy-laden parts. Instead of Peter O’Toole in the lead role, audiences get Homer Simpson.
“It looks and feels like a production of ‘Macbeth’ except these voices are characters the audience sort of knows and loves,” Miller said.
“MacHomer’s” genesis tracesback to 1994, a time when Miller was portraying “Murderer No. 2” in a production of “Macbeth.” Originally a cast party joke – “I had a lot of time on my hands,” Miller said – “MacHomer” today features a historically-garbed Miller performing more than 50 “Simpsons” voices in an hour-long, multimedia-supporting production.
While much of the adaptation has left Shakespeare’s poetry intact, Miller said he edited the play as well as incorporated certain “Simpsons” catchphrases into the mix to capture the essence of the characters.
“There’s got to be a few ‘d’ohs’ in there, or else it wouldn’t work,” Miller said. “(The Simpsons’ characters) basically take on the roles but they add their own twist to it. Homer’s Macbeth is equally ambitious and cowardly as a regular Macbeth, except he’s probably a little dumber than the average ‘Mac.’
“I do try and pay great respect to these words that have lasted 400 years and pretty much hold their own, so I don’t mangle Shakespeare as much as audiences might think I do,” Miller said.
In fact, both domestic and international audiences can’t get enough.
“MacHomer” is in its 10th year of touring, and theater critics from publications including the Los Angeles Times and the London Sunday Mail have praised the production and its creator-star. In 2002, Entertainment Weekly named Miller one of “The 100 Most Creative People in Entertainment” for his stage work, in large part thanks to “MacHomer.”
Initially surprised by the success of his show, Miller said he continues to feel flattered by sell-out crowds.
“I’ve done it three or four hundred times now so I’m not surprised anymore when it fills up a 2,000-seat theater, and when people stand up at the end of the hour,” Miller said. “I’m not surprised. I’m always honored. I’m always flattered, but I know at this stage what ‘MacHomer’ is and what it isn’t.”
Miller also said “The Simpsons” creator Matt Groening and other “Simpsons” affiliates have been generous in letting him do the show.
“I think because it’s considered a parody and because it’s been going for a long time, and also because it’s just such a huge hit with schools and with teachers, it’s a good thing to keep going and I’m glad ‘The Simpsons’ realize that,” Miller said. “It also gives them great publicity.”
With interest to take the show off-Broadway this summer, the show’s future continues to look bright. While Miller still makes improvements to the show (he recently re-recorded the soundtrack and updated the multimedia), the family of haven’t-aged-a-day characters at the center of the work continue to tell a timeless story, even without re-vamps.
“The Simpsons are silly and they’re stupid and it’s a cartoon, ultimately,” Miller said. “But deep down we care about these characters because they have this tragic quality to them — they’re all flawed and they’re living in this (crap)hole — but there’s something beneath them that makes them noble.”
Perhaps Shakespeare and the Simpsons really do go hand-in-hand.
“MacHomer” plays Smothers Theatre Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are available in the theater box office and cost $35 for the public and $6 for students.
01-27-2005
