Dawn Thomas Reidy, as Lady Macbeth, urges DeJeanette Home, Macbeth, to do whatever it takes to hang on to power. The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company production of Macbeth runs at PFI Historic Park’s theater in the ruins, in Ellicott City, Maryland, through July 23. Photo by Kiirstn Pagan

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Summer evenings are the perfect time to watch a Shakespeare play outdoors. This month, the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company — in particular, its Black Classical Acting Ensemble — presents an outstanding outdoor version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, directed superbly by Lauren Davis. The ensemble was established in 2021 “for Black artists to find and nurture their authentic voices in classical drama.”

The stage is set at a historic park amid the ruins of a boarding school built in 1837, the Patapsco Female Institute. This picturesque setting, overlooking historic Ellicott City, adds to the ambience of the production, particularly as the old architecture takes on the appearance of medieval castle walls as night falls.

Many readers may recall the plot of “the Scottish play.” First, the nobleman Macbeth and his friend Banquo meet three witches — the Weird Sisters — who seem to reveal the men’s fates and encourage them to aim for high offices.

Macbeth’s wife further fuels his ambition to be king and fulfill the witches’ prophecy. In short, they conspire to kill the current king and take his crown. Yet, as Shakespeare reminds us in this tragedy, “vaulting ambition…o’erleaps itself.”

Even if they succeed, will Macbeth and Lady Macbeth be able to allay their consciences, or will the bloody deed of several murders cause visions of ghosts and restless sleepwalking in the night?

Effective acting

The cast is excellent in bringing this Elizabethan play to life, particularly DeJeanette Horne as Macbeth. He effectively enacts the many contradictory aspects of Macbeth’s personality, which the character reveals throughout Shakespeare’s text: courage, self-doubt, fear, remorse, cruelty, defiance and — of course — ambition.

While ambition is sometimes looked upon askance, especially in religious traditions, in modern U.S. society it is considered a positive attribute. Macbeth is a highly relevant play precisely because, from a vantage point of hundreds of years ago, Shakespeare wrestles with the morality of ambition in a way that we still do today.

After a recent performance, Horne said that the scene he most enjoys is the moment when Banquo’s ghost appears to a guilt-ridden Macbeth, for this gives an actor a chance “to really cut loose.”

In that scene, Horne engages with audience members, who for that moment serve as banquet guests. He also adds moments of humor, which work to great effect.

Horne is well-matched by an outstanding Dawn Thomas Reidy playing Lady Macbeth, especially in the famous sleepwalking scene.

Gregory Burgess is regal and engaging as the doomed King Duncan, who will be felled by Macbeth.

Lloyd Ekpe has a particularly fine moment as Macbeth’s chief antagonist, Macduff, particularly in the scene in which he displays his grief at the Macbeth-ordered murder of his wife and son (“All my pretty ones?” he cries in disbelief).

The three witches are a true highlight. Both helping to guide and frame the story as well as providing playful humor and transitional comic relief between scenes, the “Weird Sisters” (portrayed by Mecca Verdell, Keri Anderson and Jordan Stanford) are crucial in maintaining the lively spirit of this production, especially in making use of the ruins-and-park setting.

Costume designer Kristina Lambdin strikes a fabulous balance between the rag-like and the elegant in the witches’ arresting costumes — their white, net-like shawls lend the performance a strange and spooky air.

The witches’ conjuring of Banquo’s descendants as future kings, shrouded but wearing crowns as they emerge from the audience, also gives the play a haunting atmosphere.

The use of shadow projections during the final battle scene between Macbeth and Macduff makes excellent use of the large outdoor space. Larger-than-life silhouetted projections of sword fighters upon the large walls appear behind the two men as they clash.

Before the production begins, there are welcome musical moments in which the entire ensemble “breaks character” and sings spirituals as well as songs from the Great American Songbook, including “Dream a Little Dream of Me.”

The play, which runs through July 23, is highly recommended for seasoned fans of Shakespeare plays as well as to those new to Macbeth. For more information, visit chesapeakeshakespeare.com/shows-tickets/macbeth.