BWW Flashback: MACBETH, Starring Alan Cumming, Closes on Broadway Today

Following a two-week extension, Alan Cumming's acclaimed one-man production of Macbeth concludes its limited Broadway engagement today, July 14, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (243 W. 47th St.). Preview performances began, April 7, ahead of an official opening night on April 21. BroadwayWorld takes you back to the production's beginnings on Broadway below!

Hailed by the Associated Press as "a tour-de-force that redefines the term," The National Theatre of Scotland's Macbeth is directed by Tony Award winner John Tiffany (Once) and Andrew Goldberg (The Bomb-itty of Errors).

The action is set in a clinical room deep within a dark psychiatric hospital. Cumming is the lone patient, reliving the infamous story and inhabiting each role himself.

Closed circuit television cameras watch the patient's every move as the walls of the psychiatric ward come to life in a visually stunning multi-media theatrical experience of Shakespeare's notorious tale of desire, ambition and the supernatural.

A Tony Award winner for his celebrated performance as the Emcee in the long-running revival of Cabaret, Alan Cumming's other Broadway credits include Mack the Knife in The Threepenny Opera and Otto in Design for Living. Cumming is a two-time Emmy Award nominee for his current role in the CBS drama "The Good Wife." Other television and film credits include Goldeneye, Spy Kids, X2: X-Men United, Titus, Eyes Wide Shut, The Tempest, Sweet Land, Sex and the City, "Frasier" and "Tinman."

MACBETH also features Jenny Sterlin and Brendan Titley as the hospital's doctor and orderly, respectively. Chris Kipiniak understudies both roles.

This production of Macbeth marks the second collaboration between Alan Cumming and co-director John Tiffany. The two first worked together on The National Theatre of Scotland's production of Euripides' The Bacchae, which took the Edinburgh International Festival by storm in 2007 and subsequently toured in 2008 to Aberdeen, Inverness and the Lincoln Center Festival in New York.

MACBETH features scenic and costume design by Merle Hensel, lighting design by Natasha Chivers, sound design by Fergus O'Hare and video projection design by Ian William Galloway, voice by Ros Steen, movement by Christine Devaney and music by Max Richter.

Last summer, The National Theatre of Scotland's production of Cumming's Macbeth opened at the Tramway Theatre in Glasgow, and then transferred to the Lincoln Center Festival on July 3.

Earlier this season, we brought a first look at highlights from the show - check them out below!

As Cumming resettled into his role in this new interpretation of MACBETH, BroadwayWorld was on hand for the opening night on April 21. Check out photos below from the first curtain call!

BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge was at the Ethel Barrymore for the opening night festivites - you can check out what Cumming, Tiffany, and the rest of the crew had to say below!

Prior to Cumming taking the stage for the first time, he braved the New York winter weather to help the Barrymore's crew intsall MACBETH's marquee. Check out BroadwayWorld's coverage!

Here's to this harrowing interpretation of Shakespeare's classic, and Alan Cumming's brave, tour-de-force performance!

Production Photos by Jeremy Daniel; Opening Night & Marquee Photos by Walter McBride