When Orson Welles staged an all-Black production of Macbeth at the Lafayette Theater in 1936, thousands filled the streets of Harlem.
Now, Voodoo Macbeth, a film recounting that historic play, will be an official selection at the Harlem International Film Festival in May. (The USC School of Cinematic Arts movie had its world premiere on February 28 at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles and subsequently played the Cleveland International Film Festival.)
Voodoo Macbeth will be shown on Thursday, May 6, at 9:30 p.m. at the AMC Magic Johnson Harlem 9 Theatres.
The movie recalls how a 20-year-old Welles adapted and directed a Federal Theatre Project of Macbeth. He moved the Shakespearean play’s setting from Scotland to a Caribbean island. Before the play opened, Welles was criticized by those who feared he was creating a demeaning, burlesque production and not hiring enough Black crew. After its opening, he was hailed for championing African-American theater.
Jewell Wilson Bridges stars as Welles with Inger Tudor as Rose McClendon, the Broadway actress who supervised the Negro Theatre Unit of the Federal Theatre Project. June Schreiner co-stars as Virginia Nicolson Welles.
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