Mac Bird

Illustration: Lisa LyonsMacBird! is a notorious 1966 counterculture drama which satirically depicts President Lyndon Johnson as Macbeth and his wife, Lady Bird Johnson, as Lady Macbeth--the Kennedys don't come off very well either.

The play originated in August, 1965, as a slip of the tongue when Barbara Garson, speaking at an anti-war rally in Berkeley, California, quite accidentally referred to the First Lady of the United States as Lady MacBird Johnson. Since it was just a few weeks after the Watts insurrection and the Berkeley troop-train demonstrations, the opening lines of a play suggested themselves immediately: "When shall we three meet again/in riot, strike, or stopping train?"

She decided to write a fifteen-minute skit or playlet based on Macbeth to be performed at the October 15-16 International Days of Protest. By October 15, however, there was no skit for Barbara was embarked upon a full-length play. The production became a big hit downstairs at the Village Gate on New York's Bleecker Street in the 1967 season and went on to a long engagement in Los Angeles.

The title role will be read by Dean Nolen, who originated the role of Harry Bright in Mamma Mia! on Broadway and earned the Critics Forum Award for playing LBJ in The Winner at Lyric Stage. The supporting cast includes both seasoned professional and student classical actors.