Episode 445: In The Seats With....Inger Tudor, Jewell Wilson Bridges and 'Voodoo MacBeth'

Sometimes certain projects just have the will to succeed.On this episode we are diving head long into a piece of cinema that recounts a little know piece of storytelling history in the modern age as we look at 'Voodoo MacBeth' which is in theatres in NY and LA now before rolling out across the USA.Before Citizen Kane and The War of the Worlds, leading Broadway actress Rose McClendon (Inger Tudor, “Goliath,” “On Time”) and producer John Houseman convince a gifted but untested 20-year-old Orson Welles (Jewell Wilson Bridges, the national tours of “My Fair Lady” and “La Cage Aux Folles” in his feature film debut), to direct Shakespeare’s Macbeth with an all-Black cast in Harlem. Reimagined in a Haitian setting, this production, which came to be known as “Voodoo Macbeth,” would change the world forever, but the road to opening night proves to be a difficult one. Orson and Rose – who is to play Lady Macbeth – clash over everything from scene blocking to crew hires, while Houseman contends with a congressman hell-bent on shutting down what he deems “communist propaganda.” Welles and McClendon must overcome political pressure, personal demons, and protests to realize their groundbreaking vision. This production kicked off a creative relationship that would be more influential then any of us could have ever realized.  In advance of the film's release we had the unique pleasure of sitting down with stars Inger Tudor and Jewell Wilson Bridges to talk about the nature of the production, the legacy there in, working with 11 directors and 8 writers?!?  And so very much more....