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| Orson Welles in 1937. |
In 1937, Orson Welles recreated Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” as taking place not in Scotland…but in Haiti.
What became known as the “Voodoo Macbeth” ran in New York City for weeks and toured America for months.
It is, and remains, an outstanding example of the innovative arts of the Works Progress Administration.
Martin Keady writes in “The Shakespeare Standard” about Orson Welles, the Bard and the part they played in WPA funded theatre.
Read his article at this link.
Join 217 Films at the Smithsonian American Art Museum on June 17 at 6:30pm to see remarkable scenes from Orson Welles’ WPA production of “Macbeth” in our new film “Enough to Live On: The Arts of the WPA.”
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| The actor Jack Carter as Macbeth. |
The film celebrates the eightieth anniversary of the WPA and the Federal Art Project and tells the story of how the New Deal used the arts to bring a message of hope and recovery to the American people (2015, 94 minutes).
Filmmaker Michael Maglaras will introduce the film and a reception will follow.
Join a docent-led tour of the museum’s New Deal artworks before the screening.
The full details of this free screening at the Smithsonian are at this link.
