Shakespeare and the American Story Icons

Shakespeare is part of American history and the Folger collection offers unique insights into his impact on American culture. Meet some of the political and cultural figures featured in the signature illustration for our Shakespeare and the American Story  exhibition and learn about their ties to Shakespeare in America.

1. Noah Webster: Most famous for his dictionary, Webster also created the first American textbook. He thought American children should read texts that reflected American patriotism – but included Shakespeare alongside foundational American documents. Webster was also a co-founder of Amherst College, the alma matter of our founder, Henry Clay Folger.

2. Abraham Lincoln: The 16^th President was known for his love of Shakespeare. There are numerous recorded instances of Lincoln reading Shakespeare or attending performances. In a note to actor James Hackett, he described his favorite plays as Macbeth, Hamlet, and Richard III. He kept copies of Shakespeare close at hand during his time in the White House

3. Julia Marlowe and…

4. E.H. Sothern: Julia Marlowe and E.H. Sothern were an acclaimed 19th-century Shakespearean acting duo (who were also married in real life), known for their portrayal of Shakespeare’s beloved pairs like Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet and Ophelia. Henry Folger saw them perform several times on stage and even corresponded with Marlowe.

5. José Ferrer: Ferrer was a trailblazer on stage and screen. He won the first Tony Award for best actor in a play (1947) and an Academy Award for Best Actor (1950), the first Hispanic actor to do so. He became part of Shakespeare history when he played Iago opposite Paul Robeson as Othello and Uta Hagen as Desdemona in their record-breaking run of Othello. It remains the longest-running Shakespeare play on Broadway.

6. Barbie: An American icon, Barbie’s been everyone—including Shakespeare’s tragic heroine. This depiction of Barbie as Juliet is drawn from the American Ballet Theatre Company’s production of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet. Originally performed by the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, this version of the timeless story came to American audiences for the first time when ABT performed it at the Kennedy Center in 1985.

7. Ira Aldridge: Aldridge was a pioneering 19th-century Black actor who gained acclaim for his portrayals of Othello, Aaron, Richard III, and King Lear. He began acting in New York City’s African Grove Theater before achieving great success touring continental Europe. Aldridge became the first Black man to perform at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden, one of London’s pre-eminent theaters.

8. Shakespeare: The man himself! No explanation necessary.

9. Ruby Dee: An award-winning American actress and a legendary Civil Rights activist, Dee was also the first Black woman to appear in a leading role at the American Shakespeare Festival in 1965. She performed the roles of Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew and Cordelia in King Lear. She would go on to originate a landmark American role – that of Ruth in Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun.

10. George Washington: Like many Virginians of his day, America’s first president attended plays and likely saw productions of Shakespeare in Williamsburg. We know he saw Hamlet in New York in 1773 and an opera of The Tempest in Philadelphia during the 1787 Constitutional Convention. During his presidency, he hosted an amateur Shakespeare production, likely in the winter of 1790.

11. Orson Welles: For legendary actor and director Orson Welles, Shakespeare was something of an obsession. He produced and starred in Shakespeare plays on Broadway and directed and starred in multiple versions of Shakespeare’s work on film, including Chimes at Midnight, in which he played Falstaff. At only 20 years old, he launched his directing career with the Federal Theatre Project’s all Black production of Macbeth, set in Haiti.

12. Earle Hyman: Known for his television work as Russell Huxtable in The Cosby Show and the voice of Panthro in ThunderCats, Hyman was an accomplished classical actor specializing in Shakespeare and Ibsen. He was the first Black American to perform all four of Shakespeare’s most well-known roles (Macbeth, Hamlet, Lear, and Othello). The Folger is privileged to be the home of the Earle Hyman Collection, including many of the actor’s personal papers, photographs, and theatrical ephemera.

13. Charlotte Cushman and…

14. Susan Cushman: Actress Charlotte Cushman was a 19th-century theatrical icon, known not only for performing Shakespeare but for taking on traditional male roles like Romeo and Hamlet. Her sister, Susan, who was six years younger, joined her on stage and was known for playing Juliet to her sister’s Romeo.