Ethan Hawke Heads to Broadway in ‘Macbeth’

Ethan Hawke will make his return to Broadway in a newly announced revival of “Macbeth,” and Jack O’Brien will direct.

Entertainment Tonight reports that Hawke will take on the title role in the classic Shakespeare drama that will open this fall at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. The production will be presented by Lincoln Center Theater.

It was just announced that “Ann,” which currently is playing at the Beaumont, will close at the end of this month. Hawke is no stranger to the theater, as he starred there in the Tony Award-winning production of Tom Stoppard’s “The Coast of Utopia.” Hawke was nominated for a Tony for his role.

Hawke’s most recent theater role came in the Off Broadway production of “Clive,” which he both directed and starred in. In a recent PBS episode of “Uncovering Shakespeare,” Hawke explored the world of “Macbeth.”

However, a new production won’t be the most original idea of recent times, as Alan Cumming currently is starring in his own one-man production of the play. Patrick Stewart took on the title role in a 2008 revival that was Tony nominated, and Kelsey Grammer also played the part at the turn of the millenium.

Lincoln Center Theater Artistic Director Andre Bishop said that numerous productions of the play recently suits Shakespeare’s work.

“Shakespeare plays have these moments like this, when there’s something in the air or in the zeitgeist that makes theater artists think, ‘This is the play to do now,’” he said.

“’Macbeth’ is both action-packed and, compared to a lot of Shakespeare titles, unusually short — the shortest of the canon’s tragedies,” he continued. “It also boasts a wealth of famous speeches plus two juicy, actor-bait roles in the title character and Lady Macbeth, the power-hungry couple whose ambition and paranoia eventually destroy them.”