3. Guest Author: James Shapiro James Shapiro details the creation of the famous "Voodoo Macbeth" in Harlem, directed by a twenty-year-old Orson Welles. Replacing Shakespeare’s traditional Scottish setting with 19th-century Haiti, the production substitute

3. Guest Author: James Shapiro James Shapiro details the creation of the famous "Voodoo Macbeth" in Harlem, directed by a twenty-year-old Orson Welles. Replacing Shakespeare’s traditional Scottish setting with 19th-century Haiti, the production substituted witches with voodoo drummers and chanters. Welles, influenced by the rise of global fascism, framed evil as a systemic cultural force rather than a personal failing. The production was a massive hit, eventually moving to Broadway and touring nationally. This tour broke Jim Crow boundaries by bringing a professional Black cast to states where Black citizens lacked political representation. (3)

1917