For Ethan Hawke, headlining Shakespeare’s Macbeth isn’t about the Broadway cred or the adoring fans at the stage door—it’s all about throwing the perfect spooky bash with his co-stars. Broadway.com caught up with Hawke at a meet-and-greet for the new production and got the scoop on his upcoming party plans.
“I definitely wanna have a Halloween party,” said Hawke, who begins performances in Jack O’Brien’s haunting new production of the Scottish play on October 24. But there’s one catch: he wants to attend the party dressed as the nobleman-turned-murderer himself. “I want to wear my costumes—Cathy Zuber’s [designing them] and they’re phenomenal—but I don’t think she’s gonna let me,” he said with a laugh. “I don’t think my wife’s gonna let me either!”
Costume or no costume, Hawke is committed to lightening the mood when he’s not rehearsing the ghoulishly dark thriller with co-stars Anne-Marie Duff, Daniel Sunjata, Richard Easton and more. “I’ve done a couple of scary movies, and whenever you work on stuff that’s really scary, [actors] tend to have a really great time,” Hawke explained. “And whenever you work on something that’s supposed to be funny, people have a really bad time. I don’t know why that is!” If his prediction is right, this bodes well for Hawke and his new castmates—see them have a bloody good time in Macbeth at Lincoln Center Theater's Vivian Beaumont Theater.