As a fan of Shakespeare, I was really excited to see Bucknell Theatre’s production of “Macbitches,” a play about toxicity, theatre, gender dynamics and of course “Macbeth.” “Macbitches” was written by Sophie McIntosh in 2022 and is about Hailey, a freshman acting major who scores the coveted role of Lady Macbeth. The play unfolds into chaos, though, when her upperclassmen classmates invite her for a night of “celebration” that turns into a night of betrayal and violence they will never forget.
“Macbitches” is, undoubtedly, a fun and unpredictable piece of theatre. In terms of writing, McIntosh’s script is tight and efficient, packed with emotion and humanity. However, I’m more delighted to say that I was absolutely blown away by the production my fellow students put on. As a student involved in the arts on campus, it’s always so inspiring to see amazing artists like these students succeed so beautifully.
In terms of acting, the entire main cast was phenomenal. Julia Piccolino ’27, plays Hailey Hudson with a level of innocence and charm that was not only believable but also elicited quite a few laughs from the audience. Hailey is a loud and often naive character and could easily fall into the realm of caricature. However, Piccolino plays her so well that this larger-than-life person feels real and authentic.
The same can also be said about Becca Lipsky ’25, who plays Rachel LaBeau, an upperclassman who grows jealous of Hailey after she scores the part of Lady Macbeth (or “Lady M” as they call her). Rachel’s jealousy adds an interesting dynamic to the play. From the outset, we know that Rachel’s intentions aren’t pure, but she has to appear truthful to Hailey. To me, Lipsky played the character with just the right balance of intimidation and sincerity. There were moments in the play where I wondered if Rachel really was the power-hungry person she’s revealed to be.
Cassandra Smith ’27, did an excellent job playing Cam Fletcher, a comedic character who also has an unfortunate past with the theatre department, as she was never quite able to get the roles she wanted. This raises a level of tension between her and Hailey, and Smith balanced the comedic and serious aspects of the character well.
Anne Parsons ’25, did a great job of bringing to life Piper Bell, a smaller character since she exits about three quarters of the way through the production. Although her character may not have had as much substance as the others, Parsons played Piper exceptionally well and stole the show with much of her dialogue.
Perhaps my favorite performance was that of Maya Gurung ’26, who played Lexi Lapp, Rachel’s best friend who has a change of heart at the end of the play. Lexi is probably the character that changes the most throughout the play, and Gurung played the character deftly throughout this change. Although her change happens rather quickly at the end of the play, it was really well played and added to the dramatic finale.
Much of this credit should also go to director Grace Woodhouse ’25. I’m not an expert in theatre directing, though I’m sure these impressive performances occurred in large part due to her directing prowess. In her director’s note, Woodhouse says, “On paper, it’s easy for these five characters to become caricatures. That was never something I was interested in exploring.” She goes on to say that they “continually drew from the humanity at the core of each of these women to act as our centering force.” This directorial vision was definitely accomplished, as the entire cast captured these characters’ humanity.
There are many more people involved in this production than I can possibly fit into one article. Just know that the entire cast and crew of “Macbitches” did an outstanding job with this unique piece of theatre.
