Rue McClanahan "MACBIRD!" (Lyndon Johnson) Stacy Keach / Paul Hecht 1967 Program

Description

This is a rare February 1967 "Evergreen Program" playbill from the opening week of the Original Off-Broadway production of the BARBARA GARSON play "MACBIRD!" at the Village Gate Theatre in New York City. (The production opened February 22nd, 1967 at the Village Gate Theatre, later moved to Circle in the Square and ran for a combined 386 performances.) ..... "MACBIRD!" was a controversial satire that superimposed the struggle for power following the
Kennedy assassination
onto the plot of Shakespeare's "
Macbeth
". Thus
John F. Kennedy
becomes "John Ken O'Dunc",
Lyndon Johnson
becomes "MacBird",
Lady Bird Johnson
becomes "Lady MacBird", and so forth. As Macbeth assassinates Duncan, so MacBird is responsible for the assassination of John Ken O'Dunc; and as Macbeth is defeated by Macduff, so MacBird is defeated by "Robert Ken O'Dunc" (i.e. Robert Kennedy). The play parodies sequences from Shakespearean tragedies including "Macbeth", "Hamlet", and "Richard III", albeit with Texas and Boston accents. The action follows MacBird from the Democratic Convention of 1960, when he becomes Ken O'Dunc's Vice-President ("Hail, Vice-President thou art!"), to Ken O'Dunc's assassination (at the urging of Lady MacBird), to Robert O'Dunc's victory over MacBird at the next convention. (Reprinted in part from Wikipedia.) ..... The play starred STACY KEACH as "MacBird" and RUE McCLANAHAN as "Lady MacBird" and included PAUL HECHT (John Ken O'Dunc), WILLIAM DEVANE (Robert Ken O'Dunc), JOHN PLESHETTE (Ted Ken O'Dunc), TONY CAPODILUPO,
JOHN CLARK,
JENNIFER DARLING, DALTON DEARBORN, DEBORAH GORDON, CLEAVON LITTLE, DAVID SPIELBERG and JOEL ZWICK ..... CREDITS: Book by BARBARA GARSON; Music composed by JOHN DUFFY; Sets designed by CLARKE DUNHAM; Costumes designed by JEANNE BUTTON; Directed by ROY LEVINE; Produced by JULIA CURTIS and DAVID PRODUCTIONS ..... DETAILS: The twelve page playbill measures 5 1/2" X 8 1/2" inches and includes full production credits, cast list, synopsis of scenes and bios of each of the actors and members of the creative team, but no cast photos ..... CONDITION: With the exception of light soiling to the cover, this playbill is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective, carded sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.