{"id":11980,"date":"2026-06-25T10:32:03","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T14:32:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=11980"},"modified":"2026-06-25T10:32:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T14:32:03","slug":"from-the-archives-the-federal-theater-projects-all-black-macbeth-directed-by-orson-welles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=11980","title":{"rendered":"From the Archives: The Federal Theater Project\u2019s All-Black Macbeth, Directed by Orson Welles\u202f"},"content":{"rendered":"

This blog post was written by Maris Tiller, SCRC Research Services GRA. Maris is\u00a0<\/em>a Graduate student pursuing her Master\u2019s in Creative Writing with a concentration in fiction.<\/p>\n

Note: The records and institutions discussed here use outdated racial language.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

At SCRC, the documents related to the Federal Theatre Project are among our most extensive and frequently accessed records. The Federal Theater Project was a part of New Deal programs during the Great Depression meant to keep artists and theater professionals employed. Through the leadership of National director Hallie Flanagan, the Federal Theater Project opened theaters in regions across America, experimented with theatrical forms, and made live theater accessible to everyday audiences (Smith). Today, I\u2019d like to highlight documents and images related to an important FTP production: the all-black cast production of <\/span>Macbeth<\/span><\/i>, sometimes referred to as the \u201cVoodoo Macbeth\u201d.\u202f\u202f<\/span><\/p>\n

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An excited audience outside of the Lafayette Theater in New York, where Macbeth was being performed<\/p><\/div>\n

In 1935, the Negro Unit of the Federal Theater Project was facing a problem. While the unit had given talented black performers work in difficult times, it was becoming more difficult to find \u201cblack\u201d theater to perform. The new head of the FTP Negro Unit, John Houseman, who had been hired in spite of Hallie Flanagan\u2019s explicit wish to have a person of color run the unit, wanted to go outside of the typical fare of big musicals like <\/span>Shuffle Along<\/span><\/i> that had typically made-up black theater fare. Houseman decided what the unit needed was to perform classical theater, \u201cwithout concession or reference to color.\u201d (Smith). He enlisted the help of a 20-year-old Orson Welles, fresh off playing Tybalt in <\/span>Romeo and Juliet<\/span><\/i>, to direct and develop the idea. Welles\u2019 idea for the production, suggested by his wife, was to change the location of the play from Scotland to 19<\/span>th<\/span> century Haiti, upping the role of the witches as voodoo priestesses whose evil influence would permeate the play (Smith).\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The witches at their cauldron<\/p><\/div>\n

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Four professional actors were hired for the production in total, with the rest of the cast consisting of members of the unit who had less experience in theater and performing. Adding to this, a Sierre-Leone drummer group was hired to play roles as African drummers. The principal players for the original run at the Lafyette Theater, included:\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Macbeth<\/strong> \u2013 Jack Carter, who had recently played Crown in <\/span>Porgy and Bess<\/span><\/i>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lady Macbeth<\/strong> \u2013 Edna Thomas, who had previous Shakespeare experience\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

MacDuff<\/strong> \u2013 Maurice Ellis, who in mid-1936 took over the role of Macbeth when Jack Carter became unable to do the part\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Banquo<\/strong> \u2013 Canada Lee, who would later play Bigger Thomas in Welles\u2019 stage adaption of Richard Wright\u2019s <\/span>Native Son<\/span><\/i>\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Duncan<\/strong> \u2013 Service Bell\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hecate<\/strong> \u2013 Eric Burroughs, who also had previous Shakespeare experience\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Witches<\/strong> \u2013 Wilhelmina Williams, Josephine Williams, and Zola King\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

(Smith)\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Jack Carter (left) as Macbeth, Edna Thomas (right) as Lady Macbeth<\/p><\/div>\n

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Canada Lee as Banquo<\/p><\/div>\n

The differences between Shakespeare\u2019s <\/span>Macbeth<\/span><\/i> and Welles\u2019 are stark, though much of the dialogue remains intact. Because of the construction of the verse, jarring references to the nation of Scotland remain intact. Some characters, like Duncan, are minimized to emphasize the role of the witches and their worshippers. Welles makes this the primary feature of the show, expanding the role of Hecate, as well, to create a world where the influencing force of power and its pursuit is rooted in something mystical, overwhelming, and irresistible (McCloskey). The overall themes of menace, evil, and craving power also evoke then-contemporary ideas of the rise of fascism, though Welles claimed not to have overtly political intentions with his rewrite (Smith).\u202f<\/span> Some example pages from the playscript are shown below.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The set design and costumes were lavishly done. The fashion of the main players was meant to evoke Napoleon and otherwise colonial connections to France during the early 19<\/span>th<\/span> century. For the final scene in Burnham wood, a crowd of actors flooded the stage with branches and leaves (McClosky). My favorite detail, though, is that scenes in the jungle take place against the background of a skeleton pelvis, which you can see crew members painting in the image below.\u202f\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Though there was skepticism from African Americans regarding the play, fearing that the production would make a mockery of them, the show was a massive success with black and white audiences. White critics were harsher on the show, claiming the play, \u201cwasn\u2019t Shakespeare at all\u2026an experiment in black showmanship,\u201d and that the black actors lacked, \u201cpoetry\u201d in their line readings. There were also complaints about the alterations to Shakespeare\u2019s dialogue, as there often are with re-imaginings of the bard\u2019s work. Most critics treated it as little more than a spectacle; audiences found it sensational and fascinating (Smith).\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Macduff, played by Charles Collins (left) fights Macbeth, played by Maurice Ellis (right)<\/p><\/div>\n

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At the Lafayette theater, the show sold out for 10 weeks, then toured other FTP theaters in Dallas, Chicago, Detroit, and many more, to integrated audiences. FTP policy was that audiences must be integrated, meaning black people were not relegated to the balcony seats only. Sadly, the amount of love for this <\/span>Macbeth <\/span><\/i>did not translate into box office sales. Set against an overall cost of $97,000, the $14,000 the play earned in performance seems rather puny. However, it was never the goal of the Federal Theater Project to make money. The primary purpose was to put people to work in entertainment industries and to make that entertainment accessible to those who were unable to afford it. In those two aims, \u201cVoodoo Macbeth\u201d was a massive success.\u202f <\/span>The play also inspired other all-black productions of classic plays for the Federal Theater Project. Seattle\u2019s unit performed an all-black <\/span>Lysistrata<\/span><\/i>, and the Los Angeles unit produced its own <\/span>Macbeth<\/span><\/i>, this time set in Africa (Smith). \u201cVoodoo Macbeth\u201d was the first professional Shakespeare adaptation to have an all-black cast, setting a precedent for theater to come (McClosky).\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The final tableau of the play, where Macbeth’s severed head is held on a pike by the witches<\/p><\/div>\n

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The only surviving footage of \u201cVoodoo Macbeth\u201d is a four-minute clip from the short film <\/span>We Work Again<\/span><\/i>, a documentary from 1937 about the successes of the Works Progress Administration. Here, we see the final scene of the play, referred to by Jean Cocteau as a,\u202f\u201csuperb ballet of ruin and death.\u201d (National Film Preservation Foundation).\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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