At the 7:30 p.m. showing of Macbeth on February 24, 2010, the Snow building fire alarm went off unexpectedly.  The fire alarm sounded during Act 4, Scene 2, approximately thirty minutes before the completion of the play. 

“Something always happens with this play.  There is so much superstition related to putting on a production of Macbeth,” said Libby Nelson, a sophomore studying English Education.

As mentioned in the February 23, 2010 edition of the Scroll, the common belief is that there is a curse on the play. Actors throughout the world take extra precautions when rehearsing and performing Macbeth.

In that Scroll edition, Roger Merrill, BYU-Idaho director of the play Macbeth said that they were not worried about the curse because “our God is more powerful than a Scottish ghost.”

Though there is a curse related to the play of Macbeth, there is no evidence that the curse caused the fire alarm to go off. While the fire alarm did interrupt the play, no accidents or suspicious things occurred.

The fire alarm went off due to the large amounts of fog generated by the fog machine used during specific scenes in the play.

Despite the distracting alarm, the actors stayed in character. When the alarm continued to sound, the play was put on hold and everyone was asked to exit the building until the situation was addressed.    

“I was really impressed with the actors and how they kept character,” Liz Loynd, a freshman (undecided).

The audience members and others stayed outside the Snow building for approximately five to ten minutes.  

“I wish I had been able to see the play without the fire alarm,” said Cassidy Hadden, a freshman studying accounting.

When everyone was allowed to re-enter the building, the audience were told that the incident was unexpected and that if the fire alarm went off again, they could remain in their seats. The audience would be informed if there was a real fire. 

“The interruption is a little weird,” said Lizz Sorensen, a junior studying English creative writing. “I love the play.” 

Because the fire alarms interrupted the play, the actors re-enacted the disrupted scene. The audience watched again as the Macduffs’ castle was stormed and the Macduff family were slaughtered.

 The conclusion of the play was met with a standing ovation.

“It was pretty insane.  A lot of really good acting.  I liked it a lot. It’s epic,” said Katie Goddard, a sophomore studying English education.

Other audience members also praised Macbeth.

“[The] set and blocking was amazing.  This is by far the best show I’ve seen here,” said Valerie Michnick, a sophomore (undecided).

Amanda Eutsler

Scroll Staff