I’ve just written about massacres that are depicted in opera. Here’s a real massacre that happened in front of a New York City opera house. The date was May 10, 1849, the theater was the Astor Place Opera House. I briefly mentioned it in an earlier post. The riot resulted in as many as 32 people killed and 120 injured by the state militia. It was the greatest number of casualties from military activity since the Revolutionary War. Though that war was more than 60 years past, there was still hostility among Americans toward Britain.
Two precursors caused the riot. One (the love of Shakespeare across all socio-economic strata) is impossible in today’s world; the other (class envy) remains a potent force.
First, about a taste for Shakespeare in the first half of the 19th century in New York City. The theater was the main source of entertainment at that time. This was true for the poor population crowded into the Bowery and the Five Points neighborhoods of lower Manhattan – the territory of the Gangs of New York. The same was true for the uptown elites. These people often went to the theater and had favorite actors. During the years leading up to the riot, the theater was dominated by Britons. Edwin Forest (1806-1972) was the first American star. His fans were fiercely devoted to him. They were from the poor part of town. The elites gave British actors pride of place.
The leading contemporary actor in England was William Macready (1793-1873). Forest became insanely jealous of Macready to the point of hissing him during a performance. The two actors had opposite styles. Forest was flamboyant to the point of overacting. Macready was more restrained and subtle.
When the latter visited New York, there was intense debate as to who was better in the major roles of Shakespeare. American resentment against British actors went back to the Stamp Act riots of 1765. Both the poor nativists and Irish immigrants of lower Manhattan were violently hostile to Macready who became the focus of anti-English feelings.
The envy part of the equation was that the opera house had been built by wealthy New Yorkers who lived uptown. The opera house’s existence was seen as a provocation by the working poor who lived near the building. Macready appeared as Macbeth at the opera house on May 7. Forest performed the same role on the same night at the nearby Broadway Theater. His supporters bought hundreds of tickets to the balcony at the Astor. They hissed and groaned, threw rotten eggs, potatoes, apples, lemons, shoes, bottles of stinking liquid at the stage. They ripped up the seats. The commotion was so uproarious that the actors could not be heard. They continued the show in pantomime. Forest received cheers and applause during his interpretation of Macbeth.
Macready decided to return to his home country after the disastrous performance on the 7th. He was persuaded to stay and give another performance of Macbeth by affluent uptowners. Among those who signed a petition urging Macready to put fate to a stern test were Washington Irving and Herman Melville. On May 10, he again took to the stage as Shakespeare’s usurper monarch.
To counter the expected reaction to Macready’s reappearance, 350 state militia were mobilized. One hundred policemen were stationed outside the Astor. Inside the theater were an additional 150 police.
On the other side, a Tammany Hall organizer and underworld figure, Isaiah Rynders, organized opposition to Macready. He distributed handbills and posters in saloons and restaurants across the city, inviting working men and patriots to show their feelings about the British, asking, “Shall Americans or English Rule This City?” Free tickets were handed out for the play, as well as plans for where people should deploy to demonstrate their anti-British hostility.
A poster distributed just before the riot is below. Note: “We advocate no violence, but free expression of opinion to all public men.” Sound familiar?
By curtain time (7:30), 10,000 people were outside the theater. Many of the anti-Macready ticket holders were prevented from entering the theater, but a lot gained entrance. Those outside bombarded the theater with stones and unsuccessfully tried to set it afire. The visiting actor again resorted to mute acting and then quietly left the theater in disguise.
At 9:15, the troops were called in. After warnings and shots fired into the air, the militia men fired several times at point blank range into the crowd. The riot ended. The following evening, there were demonstrations against the authorities for their use of force. These were quickly dispersed by mounted troops.
The consequences of the Astor House Riot were several. The opera house folded shortly thereafter. The uptown elite supervised the construction of the Academy of Music on 15th Street and Irving Place, farther north from the poor section of Manhattan. It was eventually supplanted by the opening of the Metropolitan Opera House in 1883. Shakespeare also ceased to be a popular form of entertainment. His plays became the property of the “highbrow” theatergoer.
Riots as a form of social and political expression have a long pedigree in American life. The Tammany Hall politician mentioned above was determined to embarrass the newly ensconced Whig powers. His motive was political. He didn’t care a micron about who performed Shakespeare. Some phenomena are eternal.
