A First for Everything: Richard III (1750 Production) and Shakespeare's American Debut Liam Mackay Byrd College

Despite the fact that William Shakespeare enjoyed prominence across the pond in the 16th and 17th centuries, his influence hadn’t made its way to the American stage until the late 18th. While the information surrounding the first Shakespearean performance in America is unfortunately somewhat scattered, there still remains a plethora of dots to connect. Could we attribute this scarcity of information to the residual tenacity of religious fervor? What about the mounting tensions leading up to the Revolutionary War? In order to answer these questions among others, it’s necessary to do a little digging through some of the cultural norms and ideals that were prevalent at the time, such as the predominance of Puritanism and the fact that theatre in America began as more of an undercover affair than anything else.

The time was just before the Revolution and America wasn’t exactly America yet as we were still under the thumb of British imperialists. It would seem reasonable to assume that Shakespeare would have already been everywhere considering his infectious popularity around Europe and elsewhere, right? Wrong. Come to find out, Shakespeare didn’t take the American stage until 1750 with a performance of Richard III. Little is known...