Editing MacBird!

{{short description|1966 satirical play by Barbara Garson}}
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'''''MacBird!''''' is a 1966 [[satire]] by [[Barbara Garson]]. It was self-published ('Grassy Knoll Press') as a [[pamphlet]], and the full text appeared in the December 1966 issue of ''[[Ramparts (magazine)|Ramparts]]'' magazine. It was staged in February 1967.

The play superimposes the [[John F. Kennedy assassination]] onto the plot of [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Macbeth]]''.

== Plot ==
The play burlesques Shakespeare's ''Macbeth'', with lines drawn from other plays such as ''[[Hamlet]]'', and ''[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]]'', with [[Texas accent|Texas]] and [[Boston accent|Boston]] accents. The plot follows MacBird from the [[1960 Democratic National Convention]], when he becomes John Ken O'Dunc's [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] ("Hail, Vice-President thou art!"), to Ken O'Dunc's assassination, at the urging of Lady MacBird. Robert Ken O'Dunc then defeats MacBird at the [[1968 Democratic National Convention|1968 convention]].

In the play, [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] becomes "John Ken O'Dunc", [[Lyndon Johnson]] becomes "MacBird", [[Lady Bird Johnson]] becomes "Lady MacBird", etc. As Macbeth assassinates Duncan, so MacBird assassinates Ken O'Dunc. As Macbeth is defeated by [[Macduff (Macbeth)|Macduff]], so MacBird is defeated by Robert Ken O'Dunc ([[Robert F. Kennedy]]).

The play also features the [[Three Witches]], in the form of a [[student]] radical, a [[Nation of Islam]] member, and a working-class union member.  The recently deceased [[Adlai Stevenson II]] was depicted as 'The Egg of Head' (the term '[[egghead]]' having been coined in the 1950s to describe intellectual supporters of Stevenson).

In a 2006 ''[[Washington Post]]'' interview, Garson said she was not seriously accusing Johnson of being complicit in the Kennedy assassination:

<blockquote>"People used to ask me then, 'Do you really think Johnson killed Kennedy?'" Garson, when she was 65, recalls. "I never took that seriously. I used to say to people, 'If he did, it's the least of his crimes.' It was not what the play was about. The plot was a given."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/04/AR2006090400993.html|title=She Hopes 'MacBird' Flies in a New Era|last=Horwitz|first=Jane|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=2006-09-05|access-date=2018-07-10|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref></blockquote>

''Macbird!'' began as a short satirical sketch by Garson, a recent graduate of the [[Opposition to the US involvement in the Vietnam War|anti-Vietnam war movement]] at [[University of California, Berkeley]]. She developed the piece into a full-length play with help from writer/director Roy Levine.

== Productions ==
The play, which opened just three years after Kennedy's assassination, was controversial. Some believe that authorities pressured theaters in [[New York City]] against producing the play. [[The Village Gate]] was the only theater willing to defy this pressure. ''Macbird!'' opened there on February 22, 1967, and closed on January 21, 1968, after 386 performances.

Levine, who worked with Garson to develop the sketch to a full-length play, was the original director of ''Macbird!'' His bold theatrical vision marked the production throughout the run; near the end of the previews, however, he was replaced by [[Gerald Freedman]]. Set design was by Clarke Dunham, costumes were by Jeanne Button, and lights were by Robert Brand.  [[Joel Zwick]] was the [[stage manager]].

The original cast included:

:[[Stacy Keach]] as MacBird
:[[Rue McClanahan]] as Lady MacBird<ref name="dmartinnyt">[https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/04/arts/04mcclanahan.html?ref=obituaries Martin, Douglas. "Rue McClanahan, Actress and Golden Girl, Dies at 76," ''The New York Times'', Friday, June 4, 2010.]</ref>
:[[Paul Hecht]] as John Ken O'Dunc
:[[William Devane]] as Robert Ken O'Dunc
:[[John Pleshette]] as Ted Ken O'Dunc
:[[John Clark (English actor)|John Clark]] as Earl of Warren
:[[Cleavon Little]] as Witch 2
:[[David Spielberg]] as Crony

The original cast recorded a two-disc album of the script on February 6, 1967. The album was released in a [[box set]], along with a copy of the script, on the Evergreen label (Evergreen - EVR 004).

John Clark left the production early to marry [[Lynn Redgrave]]. [[Cleavon Little]] made his professional acting debut in the play. The play had a long engagement, with a different cast in [[Los Angeles]], where Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated on June 5, 1968 while running for the Democratic presidential nomination. ''MacBird!'' was also produced at the Committee Theater in [[San Francisco]] around 1968.

==See also==
* [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy in popular culture]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Macbeth}}

[[Category:Plays by Barbara Garson]]
[[Category:1967 plays]]
[[Category:Political plays]]
[[Category:Satirical plays]]
[[Category:Plays and musicals based on Macbeth]]
[[Category:Plays based on real people]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of John F. Kennedy]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Lyndon B. Johnson]]