Forrest, Macready, Macbeth | Friday, October 16, 2026 | 8:00pm

Step into Oklahoma Shakespeare’s Play Reading Series! Hear the words come alive in a staged reading, then join the cast for a lively conversation. It’s all about celebrating the craft of storytelling and sparking fun, thought‑provoking dialogue together.

Synopsis

Two actors. One role. A city divided.

Forrest, Macready, Macbeth dramatizes the infamous Astor Place Riots of 1849, when American tragedian Edwin Forrest and English star William Charles Macready clashed over Shakespeare’s Macbeth—and New York audiences turned the theater into a battlefield.

As Forrest’s populist roar collides with Macready’s aristocratic polish, the rivalry spills beyond the stage into the streets. Bowery brawlers and Broadway elites take sides, and the Opera House becomes the flashpoint for questions of art, identity, and democracy. Beneath the spectacle lies a haunting truth: when theater mirrors society, passions can ignite into riot.

Audiences are swept into a world of daggers and dialogue, mobs and monologues, where Shakespeare’s tragedy becomes America’s own.

Why You’ll Love It

🌟 A gripping retelling of one of New York’s most explosive cultural clashes 🔥 Rival Macbeths performed in starkly different styles—raw populism vs. refined elegance 🎭 A vivid blend of Shakespearean verse and 19th‑century street chants ⚔️ A powerful exploration of art, politics, and the dangerous line between performance and reality

Presented by Oklahoma Shakespeare

Join Oklahoma Shakespeare for this electrifying journey into history, where the stage and the street collide, and the timeless questions of ambition, identity, and power echo as loudly as Macbeth’s own.