1 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:05,440 Speaker 1: Hey, Happy Saturday, everybody. A couple of weeks ago, somebody 2 00:00:05,559 --> 00:00:08,440 Speaker 1: asked on Twitter whether we would think about doing a 3 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:11,800 Speaker 1: podcast on the Astra Place riot. Well, good news, previous 4 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: hosts have already done that for you, so we're going 5 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:17,640 Speaker 1: to share that one today. This originally came out January 6 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:26,079 Speaker 1: five eleven from previous hosts Sarah and Bablina Enjoy Welcome 7 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production of 8 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:38,279 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 9 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:41,880 Speaker 1: Sarah Dowdy and I'm delayed Chocolate Boarding. And a while ago, 10 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 1: in fact, right around Halloween, Katie and I talked about 11 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:51,840 Speaker 1: the Macbeth Curse, which is a pretty interesting, spooky subject. 12 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: And I mean, there are lots of incidents of the Macbeth, 13 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 1: the supposed McBeth curse, but one that we mentioned was 14 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:03,040 Speaker 1: the Astra Place riot, and it's considered the worst, most 15 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:06,839 Speaker 1: violent theatrical riot in American history. And I thought about 16 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: it again recently after reading Dan simmons book drewd and Um. 17 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:14,560 Speaker 1: In it, William Charles McCready is actually a character and 18 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:17,480 Speaker 1: the story of this riot is recounted, and it kind 19 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 1: of piqued my interest. Yeah, it has a lot of 20 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:23,960 Speaker 1: bizarre elements in it. We're going to look at theater 21 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:27,120 Speaker 1: history a little bit, the lives of these two famous 22 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: actors who were sort of opposites, and British American forg 23 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:35,480 Speaker 1: relations in the eighteen hundreds, and the early American class 24 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:38,759 Speaker 1: tensions and even some Tammany hall politics. But the best 25 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:40,679 Speaker 1: part of it, we're looking at all of that in 26 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 1: the context of a riot. So, I mean, it's pretty exciting. 27 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 1: And um, I guess just to kick us off, we'll 28 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:50,840 Speaker 1: go through our play bill and introduce the two main 29 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,680 Speaker 1: players in this drama. One is a British intellectual and 30 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 1: the other is a rugged American. Right well, the British 31 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:03,320 Speaker 1: intellectual is William Charles McCready, and in eighteen forty nine 32 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 1: May of that year actually he was in the United 33 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:09,680 Speaker 1: States to perform a farewell engagement at Manhattan's finest theater, 34 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 1: which was the Astor Place Opera House. McCready at this 35 00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:16,120 Speaker 1: time was considered an intellectual actor, but one with a 36 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:21,080 Speaker 1: lot of intensity, and despite his aristocratic reputation and popularity 37 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:25,399 Speaker 1: with the finer sorts, finer classes, he had gotten into 38 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:27,239 Speaker 1: acting because he didn't have enough money to go to 39 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 1: law school. Yeah, so he had a humble element to 40 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:34,240 Speaker 1: his origins, which is conveniently forgotten later in this podcast. 41 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 1: But at this point McCready was far along in his 42 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 1: theatrical career. He's fifty six years old. I mean, after all, 43 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 1: this is his farewell tour and he's a huge success. 44 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:48,560 Speaker 1: He had played every major role. Uh. He debuted as Romeo, 45 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:53,320 Speaker 1: he played Hamlet, Iago lear Othello, Richard the Third, but 46 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:56,600 Speaker 1: he was most famous for his Macbeth. It was his 47 00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:00,120 Speaker 1: signature role, and he's also known for his decide at 48 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 1: ideas about how theater should be done. While managing two 49 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 1: of London's finest theaters, drew Rey Lane and Covent Garden, 50 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:10,959 Speaker 1: McCready was able to establish new expectations for productions. So 51 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 1: he introduced things that were kind of revolutionary at the time. 52 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:17,920 Speaker 1: Actors would rehearse together, which seems obvious nowadays, but I 53 00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:21,119 Speaker 1: guess they used to rehearse individually before. Yeah. At the time, 54 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:23,600 Speaker 1: I almost feel like a play was more about going 55 00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:26,800 Speaker 1: to see the big soliloquies with your favorite stars, and 56 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 1: so they would learn their lines in private and interpret 57 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 1: them however they wanted, and then come together and you 58 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 1: have to imagine the end product would be sort of 59 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 1: a mishmash, right, So McCready changed that and he made 60 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 1: it more similar to what it is today, people rehearsing together. 61 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:46,160 Speaker 1: He also wanted the costumes to be more historically accurate, 62 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:50,200 Speaker 1: and the sets and props would complement the plays. And 63 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 1: probably most importantly, he revolutionized the way that Shakespeare was performed, 64 00:03:55,400 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 1: because up until this point they would perform korl did 65 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:04,720 Speaker 1: versions of these what seemed to us um like plays 66 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:07,080 Speaker 1: you could never touch, you know, why would you want 67 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 1: to mess with Shakespeare? But at the time, like King 68 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:13,119 Speaker 1: Lear had a happy ending, a hundred and fifty years 69 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: of King Lear with a happy ending, I don't really 70 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: see the point. I don't even know how you do that. 71 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:21,640 Speaker 1: But I guess McCready didn't see the point of something 72 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 1: like that either, And so at his houses when they 73 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 1: did Shakespeare, they would do Shakespeare. It might be shortened, 74 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: but it wouldn't be a corrupted version. Yeah. And in 75 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: the United States there were also some major shakeups going 76 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 1: on in the way Shakespeare was performed at that time 77 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:37,440 Speaker 1: as well, and it was all because of a guy 78 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:41,479 Speaker 1: named Edwin Forrest, who was an actor thirteen years McReady's jr. 79 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: And a protege of Edmund Keane, who was regarded generally 80 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:48,760 Speaker 1: as the greatest English actor of his time. And forest 81 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:51,680 Speaker 1: emotionally intense frank performance of Othello in New York City 82 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:55,200 Speaker 1: in eighty six had made his name, and like McCready, 83 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:59,920 Speaker 1: also brought that same intensity to his roles and rugged 84 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,240 Speaker 1: good looks helped him as well a little bit. Yeah, 85 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 1: he was very all American, and uh it ultimately made 86 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 1: him a hero of the Shakespeare loving working classes, which 87 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:12,800 Speaker 1: at the time everybody loved Shakespeare. I mean it was 88 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:17,560 Speaker 1: common reading. It was common for working class people to 89 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:22,040 Speaker 1: have Shakespeare partially memorized and to entertain each other by 90 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:28,120 Speaker 1: reciting soliloquies. Um. But just because Forest has impressed a 91 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:32,560 Speaker 1: large part of the American theater going population, some of 92 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 1: the critics were less impressed, and the New York Tribune 93 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 1: critic William Winter rights this really scathing commentary and calls 94 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 1: Forest quote a vast animal bewildered by a grain of genius. 95 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:50,960 Speaker 1: That was harsh cutting. William Winter definitely well. One thing, 96 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:53,159 Speaker 1: there was something that the two men had in common, 97 00:05:53,279 --> 00:05:56,240 Speaker 1: the British and the American. They both had an interest 98 00:05:56,320 --> 00:05:59,359 Speaker 1: in national play rights. Yeah, I mean, we think of 99 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:02,680 Speaker 1: nineteen country British literature as a time of great novels. 100 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:06,599 Speaker 1: But McCready really wanted people to focus on play, so 101 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:09,440 Speaker 1: he was encouraging writers of his time in his country 102 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:12,840 Speaker 1: to write more plays and get out there and focus 103 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:16,120 Speaker 1: on that. Forest. Meanwhile, set up a contest for the 104 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:20,400 Speaker 1: writing of American plays, and he gets some that he likes, 105 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:26,120 Speaker 1: John Augusta Stone's Metamora and Robert montgomery Birds Gladiator, which 106 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 1: was considered the beginning of native, homegrown American drama. Yeah, 107 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 1: and forest ideal out of all of this was to 108 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:38,400 Speaker 1: have American theater free itself from English plays. I mean, 109 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:40,720 Speaker 1: I'm sure he didn't entirely want to do away with 110 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: someone like Shakespeare, but really have its own identity. So 111 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:47,880 Speaker 1: it's easy to see where this is going. It's easy 112 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:52,520 Speaker 1: to see how a professional rivalry between two men of 113 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:56,000 Speaker 1: such great stature in their own countries would develop, and 114 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: they did become professional rivals. And the rift apparently stamped 115 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:04,200 Speaker 1: from forest tour of England in the eighteen thirties. He 116 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:08,960 Speaker 1: hissed during one of McCready's London place and yeah, it's 117 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:13,240 Speaker 1: very rude and um. Some accounts said that that was 118 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:16,440 Speaker 1: due to a misunderstanding, but I never found anything that 119 00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:18,880 Speaker 1: provided further explanation than that, And I have a hard 120 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:24,400 Speaker 1: time imagining how you would accidentally hiss someone at a play. 121 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:28,320 Speaker 1: And Forest pretty much defended his actions, so all McCready 122 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: was left to do was pretty much dismissed the whole thing. 123 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,080 Speaker 1: And he also wrote about how annoying and trivial this 124 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 1: whole situation was in his diaries, so he didn't really 125 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 1: strike back per se, but he definitely expressed his displeasure. Yeah, 126 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 1: we can imagine Forest saying I have a right to 127 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: him if I want, while McCready is just so annoyed 128 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:52,880 Speaker 1: by the whole the whole story and anything taking attention 129 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:56,800 Speaker 1: away from what's really going on the play. Yeah, but 130 00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:00,880 Speaker 1: Forest followers were really devoted to him, and they saw 131 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 1: macready style as um not emotionally intense enough. It was 132 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:09,640 Speaker 1: intellectual and cold. It wasn't their cup of tea. And 133 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:13,760 Speaker 1: so this back and forth feud begins between the followers 134 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:17,520 Speaker 1: of these two men, and it could be anything from 135 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:21,840 Speaker 1: um Forest followers causing troubled you know, causing disturbances that 136 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:27,240 Speaker 1: McCready's plays hissing or cat calling to m macready's followers, 137 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:32,400 Speaker 1: making sure that the finest London literary society was closed. Forest. 138 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:37,920 Speaker 1: So just getting at each other, the followers, just bickering 139 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:49,480 Speaker 1: back and forth for years. There's more to it than 140 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:52,640 Speaker 1: just the acting aspect to it was also about what 141 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:54,920 Speaker 1: the men stood for, and we've mentioned a little bit 142 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:59,360 Speaker 1: of that. It was the obvious national breakdown, McCready being English, 143 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:03,400 Speaker 1: Forest being American. It's the eighteen forties, but there's still 144 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:07,240 Speaker 1: some Anglo American tensions left over from the American Revolution 145 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:10,600 Speaker 1: and the War of eighteen twelve, so that stuff hadn't 146 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:14,240 Speaker 1: entirely disappeared. Yeah, that's hanging over over this whole story. 147 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:18,000 Speaker 1: But it's also about class and McCready is the favorite 148 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:22,560 Speaker 1: actor of the elite and the New York aristocracy that 149 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:27,720 Speaker 1: just love everything about English society. And according to the 150 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:33,280 Speaker 1: theater professor Bruce McConochie, the Forest propaganda actually called McCready 151 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:37,240 Speaker 1: the pet of princes, which is that's pretty cruel, isn't 152 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:42,200 Speaker 1: it um Whereas Forest had this bold style and these 153 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:45,719 Speaker 1: tammany hall connections, and he's of course the favorite of 154 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:49,760 Speaker 1: the working man. So it's a it's a class division. Yeah, 155 00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:52,319 Speaker 1: and I mean I think it was put well by 156 00:09:52,400 --> 00:09:56,120 Speaker 1: forest biographer Richard A. Moody. He said, no other actor 157 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 1: could churn up the emotions of the American audiences as 158 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 1: four rested with his stormy kind of renderings of Shakespeare's 159 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:07,640 Speaker 1: tragic heroes, or his passionate, patriotic impersonation of any one 160 00:10:07,679 --> 00:10:10,640 Speaker 1: of a half dozen freedom loving zeal It's struggling against 161 00:10:10,679 --> 00:10:13,640 Speaker 1: tyrannical oppression. So kind of a long quote, but I 162 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:17,160 Speaker 1: think it expresses the way working class people identified with forests. 163 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:20,839 Speaker 1: It express this forest effect on them too. Um So 164 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:23,920 Speaker 1: clearly more is at stake than who's your favorite actor. 165 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:28,920 Speaker 1: And the newspapers label this rivalry the rich against the poor, 166 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:32,320 Speaker 1: so we can see where this is going, definitely fueling it. 167 00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:36,320 Speaker 1: So you'd think that promoters wouldn't go looking for trouble 168 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:40,680 Speaker 1: in this heated scenario by staging these two men playing 169 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:43,400 Speaker 1: the same role in the same city on the same night, 170 00:10:43,559 --> 00:10:46,760 Speaker 1: But that's exactly what ends up happening. Yeah. So in 171 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:51,679 Speaker 1: early May, there are two placards all over New York City. 172 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:56,280 Speaker 1: One advertisers McCready at the Astro Place Opera House playing Macbeth. 173 00:10:56,760 --> 00:11:00,760 Speaker 1: The other advertisers forest at the Broadway Theater in playing 174 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:04,520 Speaker 1: with that. Um. But the managers are hoping. They're not 175 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:07,440 Speaker 1: expecting a riot to come out of this. They're just 176 00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:09,719 Speaker 1: hoping that they'll sell all their tickets and pack their 177 00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:13,160 Speaker 1: houses and maybe people get a little stirred up. Yeah, 178 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:15,480 Speaker 1: I mean I can see that logic too, But they 179 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:18,200 Speaker 1: start to realize that that's not necessarily the case. When 180 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:21,520 Speaker 1: a manager for Astro Place goes out and gives away 181 00:11:21,559 --> 00:11:25,440 Speaker 1: some free tickets on May nine, the day of the show, 182 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:27,800 Speaker 1: and when he returns to the opera house, he finds 183 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:30,319 Speaker 1: out that most of them have already been snatched up. 184 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:34,040 Speaker 1: He suspects that it wasn't all macready fans who wanted 185 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:36,320 Speaker 1: these tickets he was giving away. Yeah, he's smell in 186 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:39,200 Speaker 1: trouble here, and so he asked the chief police for 187 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:43,920 Speaker 1: protection at the show, just in case anything goes down. Um. 188 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:48,960 Speaker 1: So it's the afternoon of the play and the crowd 189 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:51,680 Speaker 1: starts building in front of the theater long before the 190 00:11:51,679 --> 00:11:54,440 Speaker 1: doors are set to open, and when they finally do open, 191 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:57,720 Speaker 1: there's just a rush to get in. And I can 192 00:11:57,760 --> 00:12:01,079 Speaker 1: imagine going in the doors if you're regular theater goer, 193 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:04,240 Speaker 1: at this time and looking around, it's not the normal 194 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:08,000 Speaker 1: crowd for astor place. The regulars are in their boxes, 195 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:10,840 Speaker 1: but the floor is packed with these tough looking men, 196 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:14,400 Speaker 1: and some are wearing shirt sleeves of you know, horror, 197 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:18,280 Speaker 1: and all of them are wearing their hats indoors and 198 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:21,400 Speaker 1: it seems like, I mean, that would be menacing. Something 199 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:25,000 Speaker 1: is up, something's going to happen. But they're all quiet 200 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:28,400 Speaker 1: and their patient. They're just waiting, but they're also obviously 201 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:33,040 Speaker 1: communicating with each other with these secret signals, perhaps jokes. Yeah, 202 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:39,079 Speaker 1: some jokes get thrown around. Um, so it's um, something's 203 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:43,440 Speaker 1: going to happen, right, So then we have showtime at 204 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:45,680 Speaker 1: about seven thirty, when the play is about to start, 205 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:51,000 Speaker 1: they start stomping. It's something called a tramp warning. Normally 206 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:53,320 Speaker 1: it would die off, but in this case it starts 207 00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:57,880 Speaker 1: to get louder. The theater and its chandeliers start to shake. Yeah, 208 00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:01,160 Speaker 1: And when the play goes on, there are cheers from 209 00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:05,920 Speaker 1: the boxes from these regular theater goers, these regular MacCready fans, 210 00:13:06,559 --> 00:13:09,880 Speaker 1: but they're hisses and cat calls and cock crows from 211 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:13,440 Speaker 1: everyone else and kind of imagining different versions of the 212 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:18,000 Speaker 1: arrest development cock crows. Um McCready is drowned out when 213 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:23,120 Speaker 1: he tries to start speaking his lines, and he reacts 214 00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:26,400 Speaker 1: pretty impressively to this. I would say, at first, he 215 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:29,880 Speaker 1: just folds his arms and he waits, you know, expecting 216 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:32,720 Speaker 1: that people start to get a little embarrassed and maybe 217 00:13:32,840 --> 00:13:35,400 Speaker 1: it'll die out and they can't keep it up forever, Right, 218 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:40,079 Speaker 1: he'll be able to continue his performance. Then he stalks 219 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:42,319 Speaker 1: the stage in front of the footlights, and I mean, 220 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:44,840 Speaker 1: this is a man who sort of got his start 221 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:49,480 Speaker 1: playing villains, melodramatic villains. So I imagine he's got a 222 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:52,520 Speaker 1: great face, a great villainous face, and I imagine he's 223 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:55,880 Speaker 1: throwing it at the crowd as he stalks the footlights. 224 00:13:56,320 --> 00:13:59,400 Speaker 1: And then finally he just tries to outshout them, and 225 00:13:59,559 --> 00:14:01,680 Speaker 1: he gets part way through the act that way, even 226 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:04,680 Speaker 1: though nobody can hear him. The cries are completely drowning 227 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:08,960 Speaker 1: about Poor lady Macbeth enters and people shout obscenities at her, 228 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:12,199 Speaker 1: so she basically flees the stage. Yeah, it's just getting 229 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: worse and worse instead of getting better. People thought maybe 230 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,520 Speaker 1: if a lady was on stage, the crowd might have 231 00:14:18,559 --> 00:14:23,760 Speaker 1: a little more respect, but that's not quite what happens. Actually, 232 00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:27,160 Speaker 1: projectiles start coming at the stage at that point, for 233 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:32,640 Speaker 1: potatoes than rotten eggs. Then a chair at McCready's head. 234 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:36,920 Speaker 1: According to Joel Tyler, he leaves eight seventy three account 235 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:40,880 Speaker 1: someone shouts, go off the stage, you English fool. Who 236 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:44,800 Speaker 1: three cheers for ned Forest Yeah, And then another chair 237 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:48,200 Speaker 1: comes and so at this point McCready is worried he 238 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:51,360 Speaker 1: will be killed and this will be his final tour 239 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:54,920 Speaker 1: and his final performance of Macbeth. So he leaves the 240 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 1: stage and the curtain comes down, and that seems like 241 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:04,320 Speaker 1: should have been the end of this story. Unfortunately it's not. Um. 242 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:08,360 Speaker 1: Theater riots weren't terribly uncommon during this time. People would 243 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:11,320 Speaker 1: riot over things like I thought the play was bad, 244 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:14,840 Speaker 1: or I thought the music was bad. Um. But this 245 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:18,840 Speaker 1: was going pretty far, and McCready certainly thought so, and 246 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:22,840 Speaker 1: he resolved to cancel the engagement go back to England 247 00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:28,200 Speaker 1: on the next ship. But his American friends convinced some otherwise. Yeah, 248 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:32,280 Speaker 1: they actually published a petition about it. They UM published this. 249 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:37,920 Speaker 1: It said to W. C. McCready, esquire, Dear Sir the undersigned, 250 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:41,120 Speaker 1: having heard that the outrage at the Astor Place Opera 251 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:43,600 Speaker 1: House on Monday evening is likely to have the effect 252 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:47,440 Speaker 1: of preventing you from continuing your performances and from concluding 253 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:51,000 Speaker 1: your intended farewell engagement on the American stage. Take this 254 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:54,400 Speaker 1: public method of requesting you to reconsider your decision and 255 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:57,280 Speaker 1: of assuring you that the good sense and respect for 256 00:15:57,440 --> 00:16:00,040 Speaker 1: order prevailing in this community will sustain you on the 257 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:04,880 Speaker 1: subsequent nights of your performances. So pretty strong recommendation to 258 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:10,080 Speaker 1: stay or please evacuous. Yep, exactly forty seven people sign this, 259 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:15,720 Speaker 1: among them Washington, Irving and Herman Melville. And so McCready agrees. 260 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:19,080 Speaker 1: I mean, if Washington, Rman and Herman Melville ask you 261 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:31,520 Speaker 1: to do something, yeah, definitely. So he decides to perform 262 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:34,760 Speaker 1: may tenth the same play again at Astor Place. Yeah. 263 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:37,960 Speaker 1: But as soon as the placards go up to advertise 264 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:42,920 Speaker 1: this return of the McCready engagement, other placards appear, and 265 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:46,760 Speaker 1: these ones are advertising Forest playing the character of the 266 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:49,880 Speaker 1: gladiator in the Broadway theater on the same night. Now 267 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:52,520 Speaker 1: that we know about gladiators, wondering if he had to 268 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:55,960 Speaker 1: put on a little book a little bit that one. Um, 269 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:59,320 Speaker 1: But there's another placard that goes up to and this 270 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:02,040 Speaker 1: one is a lot more dangerous. It's I mean, this 271 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:04,720 Speaker 1: is in all caps. You can actually see this placard. 272 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:08,160 Speaker 1: Maybe I'll post it on Twitter or Facebook. Um, but 273 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:12,000 Speaker 1: it says working men shall Americans or English rule in 274 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:14,960 Speaker 1: this city. The crew of the British teamer have threatened 275 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,919 Speaker 1: all Americans who shall dare to offer their opinions this 276 00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:22,560 Speaker 1: night at the English Aristocratic Opera House working men, freemen 277 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 1: stand up to your lawful rights. So pretty serious. They're 278 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:32,359 Speaker 1: insinuating that if you go protest at the Macready performance, 279 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:38,920 Speaker 1: English sailors will attack you. I mean yeah, I mean 280 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:42,439 Speaker 1: strong stuff. Before people assumed maybe it might go off, Okay, 281 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:46,520 Speaker 1: this time there was no question. It's gonna make people 282 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:50,199 Speaker 1: angry reading that there's gonna be trouble. And so in 283 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:54,480 Speaker 1: this case, the police are already plugged in. They're they're 284 00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:57,119 Speaker 1: expecting some sort of trouble to go down this time, 285 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:00,800 Speaker 1: and they're actually already inside of the ask Replace Opera 286 00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:03,560 Speaker 1: House when the doors open. And so when the doors open, 287 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:07,600 Speaker 1: instead of this crowd rushing in, um, only ticket holders 288 00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:11,399 Speaker 1: are allowed. Um. A few ruffians still get in to 289 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:14,520 Speaker 1: make a little trouble. But then the theater is locked, 290 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:18,240 Speaker 1: it's barricaded, the windows are all barricaded, and everything is 291 00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:21,840 Speaker 1: ready for the show. Um. Still some of the people 292 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:24,399 Speaker 1: who made it in start their tramporning, and I just 293 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:27,800 Speaker 1: I can't imagine why you would go to this play 294 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:32,680 Speaker 1: imagining being locked and barricaded inside the theater. Yeah, you'd 295 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:34,399 Speaker 1: have to be a big fan. You would have to 296 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:36,600 Speaker 1: be a super fan, a major. I mean, it was 297 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:39,239 Speaker 1: this final tour, I guess. So there's motivation to go, 298 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:42,000 Speaker 1: and the petition and every kill that the theater be 299 00:18:42,119 --> 00:18:46,200 Speaker 1: killed at the theater as death by theater. But the 300 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:48,480 Speaker 1: crowd worse than the crowd inside, and the few that 301 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:50,680 Speaker 1: had gotten in. The crowd outside was the part that's 302 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:54,040 Speaker 1: really intimidating. It had gotten enormous, some estimates put it 303 00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:57,040 Speaker 1: at about ten thousand to fifteen thousand people, and they 304 00:18:57,119 --> 00:18:59,880 Speaker 1: knocked out the street lamps, they threw stones, they tried 305 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:03,679 Speaker 1: to break down the doors. Um, and the police actually 306 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:06,760 Speaker 1: had to start worrying about an actual attack on mc cready. Yeah, 307 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:09,800 Speaker 1: it seemed like there would be an attack from the 308 00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:14,400 Speaker 1: few people inside. And once they saw signs that an 309 00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:16,919 Speaker 1: attack might be made that they might try to snatch 310 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:19,639 Speaker 1: him off the stage. They started arresting a few of 311 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:23,400 Speaker 1: the rioters who were inside the theater, and supposedly this 312 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:26,720 Speaker 1: further insights the people outside if they get wind of this. 313 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:31,119 Speaker 1: But after a time and McCready continues to act. After 314 00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:34,919 Speaker 1: a time he leaves the stage. He sneaks out through 315 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:39,040 Speaker 1: a private door, supposedly disguised as an officer on horseback, 316 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:42,920 Speaker 1: and escapes back to his hotel with friends. Um gets 317 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:46,040 Speaker 1: out of it before it gets any worse, so the 318 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:51,919 Speaker 1: performances over. Basically, then the militia has to arrive. The 319 00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:55,560 Speaker 1: rioters rush at the cavalry, driving them into retreat. The 320 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:58,520 Speaker 1: infantry is battered by stones, and eventually it seems like 321 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:01,959 Speaker 1: they're going to have to retreat or fire crowd. And 322 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:04,720 Speaker 1: there we should say to they're all of these paving 323 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:08,120 Speaker 1: stones ready because there's a construction site nearby, so it's 324 00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:13,480 Speaker 1: like unlimited projectiles for the rioters, conveniently enough. But yeah. Eventually, 325 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:17,280 Speaker 1: Commanding Officer Major General Charles Sandford gives the order to 326 00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:22,520 Speaker 1: charge bayonet, but because the troops and the crowd are 327 00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:25,600 Speaker 1: in such close quarters, there's no room to charge, so 328 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:29,320 Speaker 1: some of the crowd actually sees the soldiers muskets, and 329 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:33,000 Speaker 1: there are repeated warnings. Nobody really wants to open fire 330 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:37,320 Speaker 1: on this crowd, um, repeated warnings to disperse or they'll 331 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:40,320 Speaker 1: have to shoot. Finally, the sheriff gives the order to 332 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:44,320 Speaker 1: fire blanks over the crowd's head. Because they realize their 333 00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:47,119 Speaker 1: blanks and they're going over their heads. It only incites 334 00:20:47,320 --> 00:20:51,840 Speaker 1: ridicule from the crowd, um, which is unfortunate. And then 335 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:54,760 Speaker 1: finally the order is given to fire point blank, but low, 336 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:59,280 Speaker 1: so that the metal be injured, not killed. And um, 337 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:02,760 Speaker 1: it's it's not just that the orders are the people 338 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:04,640 Speaker 1: in charge are reluctant to give the orders. The men 339 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:07,120 Speaker 1: are reluctant to carry them out. They don't feel right 340 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:11,760 Speaker 1: shooting um a civilian point blank in their own city, 341 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:15,080 Speaker 1: which makes sense. Definitely, it wasn't something that they wanted 342 00:21:15,119 --> 00:21:18,400 Speaker 1: to do. But in the end they do end up 343 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:22,480 Speaker 1: shooting on their orders. And this is from an account 344 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:24,640 Speaker 1: of the terrific and fatal riot at the New York 345 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:27,480 Speaker 1: Astro Place opera house. At last, the awful word was 346 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:30,400 Speaker 1: given to fire. There was a gleam of sulfurous light, 347 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:33,399 Speaker 1: a sharp, quick rattle, and here and there in the crowd, 348 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:35,680 Speaker 1: a man sunk upon the pavement with a deep groan 349 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:38,840 Speaker 1: or a death rattle. So by the third volley or so, 350 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:42,560 Speaker 1: the bystanders had dispersed, and by the fourth the shooting 351 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:46,960 Speaker 1: seems pretty much unnecessary, so they stopped. Yeah. Yeah, most 352 00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:50,639 Speaker 1: people consider the fourth round was uncalled for. Um. But 353 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:53,879 Speaker 1: at the end of the whole thing, anywhere from twenty 354 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:56,960 Speaker 1: two to twenty four people were dead, depending on which 355 00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:00,840 Speaker 1: account you look at, and most of them were bystanders, 356 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:06,119 Speaker 1: young working men with Irish last names. Approximately a hundred 357 00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:08,280 Speaker 1: people are wounded. A lot of those are the soldiers 358 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:13,080 Speaker 1: hit by stones and Um. You know, this rage about 359 00:22:13,119 --> 00:22:16,080 Speaker 1: the whole thing continues for a little while. Their bonfires 360 00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:19,840 Speaker 1: the next day to protest the masaker Um. Eventually, though, 361 00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:23,280 Speaker 1: the tension started to die down and McCready, of course, 362 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:27,359 Speaker 1: I mean, he's not about to be lured into a 363 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:31,480 Speaker 1: second return. Um. He gets back to England as soon 364 00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:35,679 Speaker 1: as possible for his farewell tour there. He retired playing 365 00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:38,720 Speaker 1: Macbeth in eighteen fifty one in England, and he died 366 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:43,000 Speaker 1: twenty two years later. Um Forest, though, has kind of 367 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:46,800 Speaker 1: a sadder fate. I would say, Yeah, his reputation was 368 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:51,240 Speaker 1: seriously damaged after all of this, and especially later when 369 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:54,199 Speaker 1: he was best known for this lawsuit he was in 370 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:56,959 Speaker 1: with his actress wife. He sued his wife for divorce 371 00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:59,960 Speaker 1: on the grounds of adultery and he ended up blue 372 00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:02,439 Speaker 1: in the case, but he kept appealing it for the 373 00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:04,520 Speaker 1: next eighteen years. It was kind of the scandal that 374 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:06,840 Speaker 1: was in the news, and he was kind of almost 375 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:08,960 Speaker 1: known for that more than his acting, seems well, and 376 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:11,960 Speaker 1: I mean, he was known for these two scandals, two 377 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:16,399 Speaker 1: very apparently very big scandals in the nineteenth century, and 378 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:18,639 Speaker 1: his name is attached to both of them. Maybe a 379 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:22,879 Speaker 1: little too much press um And according to Encyclopedia Britannica 380 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:27,080 Speaker 1: for Us, spent his later years in quote his gloomy 381 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:30,560 Speaker 1: Philadelphia mansion, and he died only a few months before 382 00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:34,960 Speaker 1: McCready um. But kind of a final note on this 383 00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:37,920 Speaker 1: whole thing, if you're going to look at the broader 384 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:41,880 Speaker 1: history of theatrical riots, there's a really great website called 385 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:45,440 Speaker 1: Shakespeare in American Life. It's part of the folder Shakespeare Library, 386 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:49,960 Speaker 1: and I used it a lot um for the ship 387 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:53,760 Speaker 1: that shipwreck that Saved Jamestown episode two, which was about 388 00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:56,840 Speaker 1: the tempest Um. But it's great, you know, the placards, 389 00:23:56,880 --> 00:24:00,560 Speaker 1: pictures of the actors, interviews with experts UM and there's 390 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:04,280 Speaker 1: also some commentary from Professor Bruce McConochie, who we mentioned 391 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:10,800 Speaker 1: earlier and UM. Apparently theatrical riots had been really common 392 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:14,440 Speaker 1: before the Astro Place riot, but they didn't continue too 393 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:16,960 Speaker 1: long after it. And part of the reason why is 394 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:21,160 Speaker 1: because the municipal police departments got a lot stronger around 395 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:23,879 Speaker 1: the middle of the century, and so a riot like 396 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:28,120 Speaker 1: this just wasn't allowed to happen. Of course, there's still riots, 397 00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:32,320 Speaker 1: but riots in UM, a setting that should be so controlled, 398 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:36,000 Speaker 1: just didn't happen as much. I think that's a good thing. Yeah, 399 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:37,879 Speaker 1: and I'm glad we can go to the theater in 400 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:42,639 Speaker 1: piece these days. Thank you so much for joining us 401 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:45,640 Speaker 1: today for this Saturday classic. If you have heard any 402 00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:47,879 Speaker 1: kind of email address or maybe a Facebook you are 403 00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:50,480 Speaker 1: l during the course of the episode, that might be obsolete. 404 00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:52,960 Speaker 1: It might be doubly obsolete because we have changed our 405 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:56,480 Speaker 1: email address again. You can now reach us at History 406 00:24:56,520 --> 00:24:59,600 Speaker 1: podcast at I Heart radio dot com and we're all 407 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:02,320 Speaker 1: over so social media at missed in History, and you 408 00:25:02,320 --> 00:25:06,040 Speaker 1: can subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts, 409 00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:08,680 Speaker 1: the i heart Radio app, and wherever else you listen 410 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:14,399 Speaker 1: to podcasts. Stuff you Missed in History Class is a 411 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:17,639 Speaker 1: production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from i 412 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:20,920 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the i heart radio app, Apple podcasts, 413 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:23,080 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.