Shakespeare and America

Shakespeare is everywhere in America—on our stages, on our screens, and in our everyday conversations. This year, as America commemorates the 250^th anniversary of the country’s founding, we’re exploring the larger-than-life role played by an English playwright from more than 400 years ago in American entertainment, education, and history. Below is a round-up of Folger podcasts and blog posts to learn more about Shakespeare’s influence in America for more than two centuries.

Shakespeare in American Life

Produced for public radio by the Folger and broadcast worldwide, our documentary explores the English language’s most famous playwright and his influence on American performance, politics, and popular culture.

Three hour-long episodes, narrated by Sam Waterston and created by Richard Paul, deepen our understanding of Shakespeare and the American identity,

Listen to one episode or enjoy the entire series.

Shakespeare in Performance

Shakespeare is playing somewhere in America most days of the week, whether it’s a musical, festival, television, or the movies. This hour-long documentary explores how American Shakespeare has been shaped by the American experience. From the young nation’s earliest days, when an “American” acting style first took shape, to the influence of Black Americans on Shakespeare on stage, to method acting, to Hollywood, America and Americans—actors, directors, and audiences—have made Shakespeare our own.

You might also enjoy…

• Shakespeare and African Americans
• What Makes Shakespeare Musicals “American”
• Joe Papp and Shakespeare in the Park
• Colman Domingo on the Power of Theater

Shakespeare in Education and Civic Life

After the American revolution, there were real questions about whether America should adopt British culture and literature—including Shakespeare’s plays—or create its own. This one-hour documentary follows Shakespeare’s path in the years that followed, including his surprisingly late arrival in the classroom and his role in major movements like the push west, the establishment of cities, the Civil War, and the immigrant experience. It also explores America’s fascination with Shakespeare outdoors.

You might also enjoy…

• • The History of Shakespeare in American Schools
  • The Bard Goes West
  • The Actor and the Assassin: Edward and John Wilkes Booth
  • Shakespeare and Immigrant New York

Shakespeare in American Politics

John Adams was a Shakespeare enthusiast who filled his diaries with mentions of the plays. Janet Reno assembled her staff to read King Lear. In 1849, disputes over British and American acting styles touched off a deadly riot. The most famous Black Shakespearean of the 19th century was an American who went to Europe after he saw Black actors arrested for performing Shakespeare in the US. In the 1980s, Shakespeare was drawn into battles over race and gender on college campuses. This program explores how Shakespeare’s work has intertwined itself with American electoral politics, geopolitics, and racial, class, and academic politics. It also explores how Shakespeare has been used for political purposes throughout American history.

You might also enjoy…

• Read | Shakespeare and the American Revolution
• Astor Place Riot
• Abraham Lincoln and Shakespeare
• The Federal Theatre Project, with James Shapiro