Voodoo Macbeth info - info about

[colwood]

I am doing some research on Welles' "Voodoo Macbeth" production but need more info. I have read the "Orson Welles on Shakespeare," and the appropriate section in Simon Callow's "Road to Xanadu." I saw the chapter on it from the documentary "Battle over Citizen Kane." And even though it is fiction and not 100% fact-based, I read the book "King of Harlem." Of course I've read everything I could about it in any Welles biography I've come across, but it usually amounts to a couple pages at best. Can anybody recommend any (hopefully in-depth) resource (books, films, interviews, etc.) that could offer me some in-depth information on the play and it's production? Thanks

[mteal]

Thanks for the tip on KING OF HARLEM. I'd never heard of it. Sounds like a pretty entertaining book.

A couple of suggestions for the Voodoo Macbeth info: try John Houseman's RUN THROUGH which goes into some depth on the Welles/Houseman theatrical collaborations. Also, see if you can track down a copy of Richard France's THE THEATRE OF ORSON WELLES, the only book I know of devoted exclusively to Welles' theatrical productions. That one is out of print and pretty rare, though. I think the Houseman will probably be much easier to find.

[jaime marzol]

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mteal is right, the houseman book will be your best choice. it's available through interlibrary loan at your local pubic library.

i've seen pictures of it in a huge book about the greatest american plays ever staged, don't recal exact title, but greatest, and american plays is in the title.

frank brady's book is a very reliable source.

and look in the library of congress for the wpa. they have the scripts that were sent to the theaters. it wasn't that welles decided to do macbeth, then decided to change the setting, the wpa has like a supply of scripts and it seems they had to pick from that stack. and it was his first wife's idea to stage it in haiti.

but your best bet would be the houseman book. it's a great book. before i had a copy machine and could pirate at home in my spare time, i stood at a 7-11 copy machine at 3:00am, and while the store-hadji slept, i pirated all 600 pages. it was well worth it.

[colwood]

to mteal and jaime marzol, thanks for the info, it certainly gives me a place to start.

I've been doing this research on and off for three months now, and for some reason, it never occurred to me that Houseman more than likely wrote something on some aspect of his life. Oh well, his book will be first on my list of "to get". I've heard of the Richard France book, "Theatre of Orson Welles," but have not been able to find a copy as of yet. I found a website that has some info on the wpa and the "voodoo macbeth", though I'll definetly need to explore this source more in depth.

thanks again

[jaime marzol]

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glad we could help, i know what it's like banging around trying to find info, you waste a lot of time waiting for the wrong stuff to arrive.

houseman wrote a bunch of books, "run through" is the one you want.

[Fat Annie]

just in case you found another web site, try
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fedtp/ftmb1.html

[mteal]

Wow, that's an amazing site, lot of great pics. Also, let's not forget last year's DVD set, TREASURES FROM THE NATIONAL FILM ARCHIVE, which contains a restored 5-minute newsreel on the Voodoo Macbeth production (the only known footage of any of Welles' stage productions).