Dr Dustin Fridkin, Associate Professor of Political Science, will talk about the Astor Riots, one of the bizarre events attributed to the curse of "The Scottish Play." Come and bring students, friends, and family! See description below: On the evening of May 10th, 1849, a riot at the Astor Opera House, in New York City, left more than twenty people dead. The immediate cause of the riot centered on disagreements between different groups of theater-goers over the proper way to perform Shakespeare’s plays. Some preferred the bombastic style of Edwin Forrest, perhaps America’s most famous performer at the time, while others preferred the more sedate style of the English actor, William Macready. What on earth could have made this disagreement over aesthetics turn deadly, and what were the consequences?

Santa Fe College English Department

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