Tickets are selling fast for University Players’ season opener, Mac Beth, an adaptation by Erica Schmidt from William Shakespeare’s Scottish tragedy.

In a desolate urban underpass outfitted with an abandoned bathtub, couch, and shopping cart, seven teenagers gather for a meeting of their Mac Beth “club” and perform the play. It’s all true to Shakespeare’s original text, but in the bodies and voices of the students, the story gains a deeper meaning.

Mac Beth premiered in New York in 2019. In an interview with allarts.org, the playwright put the modern context into perspective:

“I wouldn’t say I have adapted the play into a new context. We are still on a heath. We are doing the play faithfully. We adhere to the text as written by Shakespeare wholeheartedly... The idea to use teenage girls came from questioning: what is a witch? What is a person who traffics with the occult and makes potions and believes in spirits? But really. Right now. There is a long history of young women being accused of witchcraft and teenage girls have a ferocity and power unique to being between girlhood and womanhood.”

Mac Beth opens Friday, Sept. 22 with a 7:30 p.m. performance at Essex Hall Theatre. The show runs approximately 90 minutes. Recommended for ages 14+, some mature content violence and gore. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at www.universityplayers.com. Regular price tickets start at $20.

Subscriptions for the full University Players season will be available through the run of the show. Tickets for a full four-show series start at just $62.