“Voodoo” Macbeth opened at the Lafayette Theatre on April 14, 1936. Directed by a 20-year-old Orson Welles for the Federal Theatre Project’s Negro Unit, the production was an immediate, historic sensation – drawing 10,000 spectators to the street outside the theatre on opening night.
The production was an overwhelming success, winning rave reviews from both the New York Times and New York Daily News when it opened on April 14, 1936. Macbeth played for 10 sold-out weeks at the Lafayette Theatre before moving to the Adelphi Theatre and then embarking on a national tour.


