Every theater-lover should know the story of the Astor Place Riots, but it’s about much more than a fight between the two biggest actors of the day. The Riots are a national tragedy unlike any other.
May 10, 1849, New York City: the bitter theatrical rivalry between two of the world’s best Shakespearian actors—American Edwin Forrest and British William Charles Macready—reaches a crescendo. On the last night of Macready’s third farewell tour of the U.S., thousands of Forrest supporters surrounded the Astor Place Opera House. The police and even military stepped in, and shortly thereafter, all hell broke loose. By day’s end, over 20 people were dead and hundreds wounded.
For its 175th anniversary, this tragic event will be commemorated by Peculiar Works Project with a unique memorial service, including musical tributes and comical reenactments. It will celebrate the power of theater, its legacy of influence in New York City and the thespians who dedicated their lives to it. But the dead were not just theater-lovers, they were also young rowdies, frightened neighbors and unsuspecting passersby.
Step back into the turbulent mid-1800s and bear witness to this cautionary tale that shares many parallels to today’s extreme political culture. Fearful and growing territorialism, the perils of mob mentality and what it means to be American are relevant once again. Observance of this unique theatrical moment, one of America’s most shameful events, is a solemn, satirical response to today’s nativism and xenophobia, closing with a procession to the site where it happened.
