Alec Baldwin - MACBETH - Slip-up?

[Elphabuff2]

Posted: 6/16/08 at 10:03pm

I don't care; I'm starting a new thread for this.

Anyone surprised that he actually said "Macbeth" in the Tony broadcast? I was thinking he would say "The Scottish Play," since Mary-Louise Parker did so very shortly before he presented. Wonder if it was a slip-up or a snub to superstition. Anyone think anything will...happen? Just curious. Had to post. No morbidity intended.
Updated On: 6/16/08 at 10:03 PM

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 6/16/08 at 10:04pm

Alec Baldwin has no fear. NO FEAR!

[i*heart*fame]

Posted: 6/16/08 at 10:04pm

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?thread=962856&boardid=1

[Elphabuff2]

Posted: 6/16/08 at 10:16pm

I'm confused. I've already seen that thread. I'm wondering if anyone thinks he was briefed on the superstition/knew about it and chose to ignore, or if he intended to say "The Scottish Play" like Mary-Louise Parker did but slipped up and said "Macbeth" instead. Also, I didn't see any shocked audience members, but I certainly was.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 6/16/08 at 10:18pm

You must now spit and run around the Theatre three times.

[puppetman2]

Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:03pm

Updated On: 6/18/08 at 11:03 PM

[oohshizz146]

Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:14pm

I kind of stopped breathing when I heard it.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:23pm

I certainly sat up and took notice when he said it. He seems the type to "buck" superstition.

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:28pm

Updated On: 5/3/09 at 11:28 PM

[LadyRosecoe]

Posted: 6/16/08 at 11:31pm

Thankfully he DID say it, because Shakespeare sure as **** didn't write a manuscript that said "The Scottish Play" on it. Even though there is no evidence aside from some legal documents that he actually exists anyway, I'm sure it would have said "Macbeth" on it anyway.....because I am him and know all.

[etoile]

Posted: 6/17/08 at 12:52am

"Maybe it only counts if it's a theatre actor who says it."

Really???

So being off and on a New York Stage over the past several years doesn't count? So the fact that Baldwin received a Tony nomination, an Obie Award, and a Theatre World Award before many on this board were born doesn't make him enough of a theatre actor?

[broadwayboy101]

Posted: 6/17/08 at 1:00am

I think he did it on purpose, the look he had when he said it made me think so at least.

[achangeinme]

Posted: 6/17/08 at 2:30am

I think Alec Baldwin gets the privilege to say Macbeth around a theatre just because he is such a badass. He's just a little cooler than the rest of us common folk.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 6/17/08 at 2:45am

I was going to say, just because he has dedicated himself to the film/TV world, I consider Alec Baldwin a stage actor. He hasn't even been off the stage for that long, it wasn't that long ago that he was in ENTERTAINING MR. SLOANE and that whole thing with Jan Maxwell occurred.
I am guessing he was either defying the curse or just read off the teleprompter and forgot. You could tell that when Mary-Louise Parker said "The Scottish Play" she made a pause since she was reading from the teleprompter, was about to say it out loud, and then corrected herself. I thought it was wonderful that she did. She also sounded really bored when reading the names, but who cares? She's Mary-Louise f-ing Parker.

[winston89]

Posted: 6/17/08 at 4:07am

I never believed in the whole superstition and think its a bit over the top. But, nonetheless I was surprised when he said Macbeth.

I did think that when Parker said it she took a pause to not read form the teleprompter and to say what she wanted to say and disregard the prompter. I think the prompter said Macbeth but she decided to say the scottish play instead.

However, no one died or had anything bad happen to them when Macbeth was said in a theatre so that is only further proof that the superstition is bull.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/17/08 at 4:21am

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the name Macbeth spoken several times within the play itself? Which usually takes place in a theatre... ?

[winston89]

Posted: 6/17/08 at 4:25am

Exactly. That is one of the many reasons why I don't believe in the superstition. People say that it doesn't count if it is in the play and your saying it because it is in the play your in. But, that sounds like a cop out to me.

[LadyRosecoe]

Posted: 6/17/08 at 4:28am

Apparently the genie will not wreak havoc on your soul and whatever lousy theater you're in if you are actually in the play and say the name Macbeth. THEN it's okay. But that's the only exception, don't think you can try outsmarting him!

[Weez]

Posted: 6/17/08 at 7:32am

Check out the Wikipedia, it's a barrel of laughs and covers the 'Macbeth' superstitions. You can say Macbeth when you're performing the play, but you should avoid it during rehearsals where possible, and never use it loosely in conversation.

I reckon the teleprompter says "Macbeth" on it, then it's up to the individual if they want to pander or not. The [tos] cast were having fun talking around it at the Drama Desk awards "'Macbeth'... YEAH I SAID IT!", that kinda thing. As this is just an awards ceremony and they're not rehearsing a show, they don't need long-lasting good luck (like continual good health, good reviews, healthy box office), so they're much easier-going about whether people say it or not.

I'm a theatre person who knows the superstitions, but I'd still totally say it at an awards ceremony. Mind you, I'd totally say it backstage at a play as well, which could well get me tutted at a lot. XD

[The Other One]

Posted: 6/17/08 at 8:06am

Non-theatre actor Alec Baldwin actually played Macbeth opposite Angela Bassett at the Public Theatre some years ago. He proudly identified himself as a "Broadway Whore" on Inside The Actor's Studio. He's also starred in Prelude To A Kiss, Loot, A Streetcar Named Desire and Twentieth Century, but who's counting?

I hate that superstition, was annoyed when Mary Louise Parker played into it and delighted when Baldwin defied it.