Struggles and troubles? That’s how you exude witchy charm and gain admission to an elite school.M got her SAT perfect, earned countless Advanced Placement credits, and spent many days of extracurricular activities. but my application to my dream university was rejected. So what does the girl and her scheming sister do? Commit murder. Maybe one or more.
these are”incomparable, an adaptation of playwright Park Ji-hye’s sly and sophisticated “Macbeth.” Carried from Scottish heath to the halls of a Midwestern high school, “Peerless” puts tragic moral issues in her M mouth and miniskirt (sasha diamond), seniors, L (Shannon Tio), her twin. L is in his junior year, and he’s back for a year to improve his chances of getting into what they call “The College.” But those plans go awry when the college accepts classmate D (Benny Wayne Sully) instead. D has a lower GPA but is Native American. M is a girl and Asian-American, although she acrimoniously describes herself as a “double minority,” she believes D is better than her when it comes to racist admissions policies. .
smart — because park Very smart — the play is happy to absorb the themes of “Macbeth” without providing an outcome for each plot point. There is no Birnum Forest here, no spots to hang out. Macbeth’s best friend Banquo is now BF (Anthony Cayson) and M is a barely there boyfriend. Instead of the three witches and her Hecate, there is only her one classmate known as the Dirty Girl (Marié Botha, delightful) and her Amanda Gladu in her witchy black trench coat. I am wearing a costume. This set by Kristen Robinson diagonally shows a school hallway with cutouts for the living room and bed where appropriate, while Mektley Cousin’s flashing deep-colored lights steer the environment towards the spooky. fine-tune.
Instead of Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter, Park writes in sharp, staccato rhythms, in short lines that run through the scene a few syllables at a time. Under the direction of Margot Bordelon, the actors rip them apart like so many high-carb snacks. ?) They’re having such a good time, definitely too good a time for Sully’s manic and excitable D. Bouderon gives her young cast credibility and space to show them what they can do. This includes some very silly dance moves during the Homecoming scene.
Not all parts of “peerless” work. Much has been said about being M and L twins and their ability to take turns, but she who excelled in ‘The Chinese Lady’ and is nicely malicious here is Tyo and ‘Once Upon a (korea) Time,” hardly resembles. And since Park spends far less time exploring psychology and motivation than Shakespeare does, the characterization seems thin.
Occasionally, the work becomes richer about how Gen Z members rehearse, act on, and weaponize their identities, and how we are currently sacrificing to secure an increasingly precarious future. suggests a spiky play. There is a fruitful debate if not digested about both external and internal prejudices. But the nasty, glossy “Peerless” mostly lives on its malevolent surface. That’s certainly bad. It can be much more.
incomparable
Until Nov. 6 at the 59E59 Theater in Manhattan. 59e59.orgPerformance time: 1 hour 20 minutes.