Lewis Powell's Family

[Linda Anderson]

(02-05-2013 03:39 PM)Laurie Verge Wrote:  Correct me if I'm wrong, but the finding of Richard IIIs bones reminded me that it was one of JWB's favorite Shakespeare roles.

You are right, Laurie. From The Darkest Dawn by Thomas Goodrich:

"'Edwin has more poetry, John Wilkes more passion,' noted one critic...'Edwin is more Shakespearean, John Wilkes more melodramatic; and in a word, Edwin is a better Hamlet, John Wilkes a better Richard III.'

"And yet, it was not the role of the hunchbacked murderer that John Wilkes preferred, and for which he was most closely identified, but that of the wronged king, and that of the selfless slayer of tyrants. 'Of all Shakespeare's characters, I like 'Brutus' the best, excepting only 'Lear,' admitted the actor. Nevertheless, it was Richard, the role his father performed with such spellbinding perfection, that shot young Booth into stardom."

The New York Times has a Disunion article on Booth and "Richard III", "The Assassin's Debut," by Adam Goodheart.

"So now, on Dec. 1 [1860], newspapers and handbills announced the first appearance of a familiar actor under an only half-familiar name: J. Wilkes Booth. He was to take the title parts in a long-forgotten drama, “Rafaelle,” and another Shakespeare play, “Richard III.”

"The latter role had helped make his father famous, and the younger Booth would continue performing it to great acclaim for the rest of his life. He seemed to take naturally to the character of the despotic ruler, overthrown and slain in the last act, whose credo is 'I am determined to prove a villain.' Reviewers would describe his scenery-chewing histrionics in evoking the hunchback Richard’s 'tempests of tragic wrath,' as well as his swashbuckling swordplay in the final battle scene."

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/201...ins-debut/