The witching hour: Trio relishes 'Weird Sisters' roles in Oklahoma Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'

"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble."  

The ominous incantation is not only one of William Shakespeare's most famous lines, but also one of the most iconic in all of Western literature.  

It's a potent reminder that the three witches uttering it are true power players in "Macbeth," The Bard's classic (and allegedly cursed) tale of ambition, betrayal and murder. The potent trio and their steaming cauldron will be front and center in Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park's new production of "the Scottish play," set for Oct. 28-Nov. 14 in the company's new outdoor performance space.  

"I feel like the witches almost go beyond gender, but the way that they are presented and the way that they're written, there's this really powerful female energy," said Maya Ferrer, who is playing the trio's Second Witch. 

"I think that's something that is so fun to work with, especially when we look at things like witch trials and burning women for being witches. There's so much to unpack." 

Ferrer joins Andie Fuentes and Lauren Harrison in bewitching the final show of Oklahoma Shakespeare's all-outdoor 2021 season, which the venerable company opened with the debut of its new Shakespeare Gardens stage in the Paseo Arts District. One of The Bard's most famously bloody tragedies, "Macbeth" is the ideal outdoor title for the Halloween season, said Managing Director Tyler Woods.  

"This play has so, so, so been steeped in superstition, in witchcraft. Many of Shakespeare's plays deal with the spirit world or fairies and all these things, but this one deals with, I'm just going to call it black magic. ... So, we're really kind of leaning in to that," said Woods, who is directing the title for the second time after also playing the title role twice.  

"I was open to casting men, but at the end of the day, I think it's better, especially with all the men that are going to be in this play, to have women in these roles. ... These three have a very youthful exuberance and energy about them."

Would-be kings, queens play their parts in 'Macbeth' 

"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes," the Second Witch famously proclaims in "Macbeth," referring to the treacherous would-be king.  

Guest artists from New York and Missouri will join Oklahoma performers in the eerie autumnal production. New York City actor Michael Stewart Allen will bring a wealth of experience in classical acting and stage fighting to the title role, a brave Scottish general and royal relative who receives a prophecy from the witchy trio that he will one day become King of Scotland.  

An OKC native now based in NYC, Madelyn Sproat will co-star as his scheming wife, Lady Macbeth, who feeds Macbeth's ambitions to murderous ends, ultimately sealing both their fates.  

Missouri-based actor Michael LaGue is taking on multiple roles, including King Duncan, the monarch whose throne Macbeth is willing to kill to have as his own.  

Although they are imbuing the witches with what Ferrer has dubbed "divine feminine energy," she and her cohorts also play multiple parts, including male characters. Along with embodying the Third Witch, Harrison portrays a solider named Young Siward and one of the murderers Macbeth dispatches to eliminate his rivals.  

"The most interesting aspect in getting to play these different characters from the witch is the idea of gender and how people react to violence, especially in the midst of fear," Harrison said.  

'Weird Sisters' oversee the chaos

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?" the First Witch asks in the opening lines of "Macbeth."  

Also known as the "Weird Sisters," the witches are akin to the Three Fates of Greek and Roman mythology, who were believed to determine each person's destiny. Since "Macbeth" is set in 11th-century Scotland, costume designer Chloe Mullin incorporated skulls, bones and feathers into the witches' garb, harkening back to the druids, ancient Celts venerated as soothsayers, priests and sorcerers.  

"I like to think of the witches overall as witnesses and prophets. They are just present throughout the whole story, and it's really cool how we're incorporating them in other scenes, as just kind of beings in the background, observing, judging. In our first rehearsal, we talked about how they can't force anyone to do anything: They can only tempt, and that's been really fun to play with," said Fuentes, who portrays the First Witch.  

"One of my favorite things about what we are doing as the witches is we're all bringing something different to the table." 

It is fitting, she said, that the First Witch's familiar is a cat.  

"They will be nice to you if you're nice to them, but if you are ... poking the kitty, the kitty's gonna fight back," Fuentes said. "I grew up in Mexico, I'm Latina, and brujería — witchcraft — it's a very prevalent thing in Latin America. It's something that I spent a lot of my childhood playing games and kind of diving into with my friends. ... In brujería, they very much depend on emotions and senses, and I think that also plays along with our witches."

The Third Witch's familiar is a "harpier," or harpy, a mythical creature who is half-woman, half-bird.  

"It's like the whole idea of the 'bird's-eye view' perspective ... being able to kind of see and instigate things," Harrison said. "I like the idea of really being grounded in the horrors in nature because of what's unknown. ... You'll never know what's in the deepest parts of the forest or at the bottom of the ocean ... but the calm before the storm kind of vibe is where my witch really comes from." 

A toad familiar is appropriate for the "janky" Second Witch, Ferrer said.  

"She's a little off her rocker," Ferrer said. "She doesn't feel like she really has to prove that she is an almighty, powerful being, but she just really enjoys the chaos, the complete anarchy, that happens when they stir the pot." 

Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park's 'Macbeth' 

When: 8 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays Oct. 28-Nov. 14.  

Where: Shakespeare Gardens, 2920 Paseo.   

Information and tickets: https://www.okshakes.org/macbeth.  

Children's Halloween Festival  

Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park will present its inaugural Children's Halloween Festival from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 30 outside in the theater company's Shakespeare Gardens, 2920 Paseo.  

The new free event will include trick-or-treating, mask painting and "Classics for Kids" performances at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. 

For more information, go to https://www.facebook.com/OklahomaShakespeare.