Starting today, audiences will have the opportunity to see one
of the greatest conflicts in the history of the theater.
The setting is Broadway in May of 1849, a time period in which
Americans held extremely anti-British sentiments.
In this heated atmosphere, two acting companies are
simultaneously running productions of “Macbeth” ““
one led by American actor Edwin Forrest, the other featuring the
British star William Charles Macready.
The combination of these two men on Broadway produced an uproar
that caused the militia to be brought out for their
performances.
By the close of the second night, the militia had shot and
killed at least 30 people and injured hundreds more.
This unprecedented event of violence is the premise for the
upcoming play “Two Shakespearean Actors,” which opens
up the UCLA Department of Theater’s season and runs through
Nov. 19 at Macgowan Hall’s Little Theater.
“There has been nothing like that before or since,”
director Joe Olivieri said. “(It was) a stain on the history
of theater.”
The play, written by Richard Nelson, covers the week preceding
the riot, along with the historic night itself, taking a closer
look at the personal stories of the characters and blending fact
with fiction.
Third-year master’s student Tishuan Scott, who plays the
role of Forrest, said, “It is a very interesting story if you
look at what happens when you take patriotism too far. People
forget about the idea of humanity and react
irrationally.”
Kahlil Joseph, also a third-year master’s student, said he
loves the humor and depth of his character, Forrest’s British
rival Macready. He said that his involvement with this play marks
one of his favorite roles at UCLA.
“The reason I fell in love with the play from day one is
because I love the feud with the two men, neither backing down.
Each one thinks he is right. Both are right and both are wrong in
different ways,” Joseph said.
The plot also revolves around Macready’s British
assistant, John Ryder, played by third-year master’s student
Paul Moore. Ryder has been offered a role in Forrest’s
production to play the character of Macduff in Shakespeare’s
“Macbeth.” Ryder is torn between loyalty to Macready
and wanting to act.
The play carries some difficulties, mainly in the size of its
production. It has 25 characters, which requires most of the 15
actors to be double-cast. “(They) faced a lot of acting
challenges with the play,” Olivieri said.
The size of the play’s production may only be matched by
the size of its budget. Luckily, UCLA could afford the costs of
such a grand production.
“Directing at a university setting is like working in a
full-equity house,” Olivieri said.
Another challenge came from the great amount of research needed
to accurately depict the time period. The play even required an
on-set dramaturge ““ a specialist hired to investigate the
time period.
The extra work paid off, however, as this attention to detail is
what Olivieri cites as one of the features that makes the play so
fascinating.
“It shows what the typical American was like ““ what
they thought and why,” Olivieri said. “The country was
only 73 years old at the time, which is an interesting way to look
at it.”
For those intrigued by the history in the play, the theater
lobby will display historical facts about various characters.
“I loved the historical aspect of the play,”
Olivieri said. “I would like the audience entertained, but
also to come away with a little bit of American history. We
don’t usually explore this period, but it was an interesting
slice of our past.”