Starring Roles |
There was a time in America when actors and actresses became household names for their portrayals of Shakespeare’s classic roles on stage. In the 1840s, Edwin Forrest’s supporters caused a famous theater riot—and as late as the 1940s, Paul Robeson set theater records with a ground-breaking performance in New York as Othello. In between, a host of theatrical luminaries—famous in their day across the nation and around the world—filled the American stage with drama and laughter. Select from the Shakespeare stars below, arranged in order of their first appearance before the public, to recapture the glories of that era through colorful costumes, photos, engravings, behind-the-scenes promptbooks, and more. For some performers, we’ve also included audio interviews with biographers and historians.
