Obama says the FORBIDDEN word.

[PattiLover]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 3:20pm

From CNN.com

"In Ford’s Theater, Obama invokes forbidden word
Posted: 02:51 PM ET

On a trip to Ford’s Theater, site of President Lincoln’s assassination, Obama paid tribute to the 16th president’s ability to recall passages of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — It’s a word so fraught with superstition, its very mention can send grown men ducking for cover — and President Obama used it Wednesday night.

Macbeth.

On a trip to Ford’s Theater, site of President Lincoln’s assassination, Obama paid tribute to the 16th president’s ability to recall passages of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth. And with that reference, he unwittingly ventured into what many theater hands believe to be dangerous territory: any mention of the name of the doomed Scottish king in a theater outside of a performance is considered verboten by many actors, who believe it will result in a cursed production — including a greater possibility of injury, bankruptcy, even death.

So does Obama have anything to fear from uttering the unluckiest word in what may be the unluckiest theater in American history? Theater-goers can relax: Many stage afficianados believe that the prohibition only applies to performers or theater hands, and non-actors have nothing to worry about.

But in the near future, the president might want to stick to movies. Just to be on the safe side."

I wonder if the secret service rushed him outside to spin 3 times and spit.

[Paul W. Thompson]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 3:22pm

You also have to ask permission to come back inside, which must be granted. Can't forget that part!

[lull89]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 3:25pm

Is there even a production coming up at that theatre? If there isn't, I don't think there's anything to worry about.

[MCfan2]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 3:44pm

There's a production going on there right now about Lincoln, "The Heavens Are Hung in Black."

[philly03]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 3:47pm

And also in honor of Lincoln...this Spring/May, Frank Wildhorn's "The Civl War" (also known now as "For the Glory") will have an engagement there!

[Paul W. Thompson]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 3:49pm

So which of these productions will have bad luck? I can't wait to find out!

I just hope the bad luck doesn't befall the non-actor who said the word.........

[TheCharleston]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 3:51pm

Mistake #1 as President.

And so we begin....

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 3:54pm

Oh sh*t.

[Paul W. Thompson]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 4:16pm

Clearly, speechwriter Jon Favreau isn't gay, or this never would have happened.

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 4:17pm

In case anyone was wondering...
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/

[ChiChi]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 4:54pm

I'm an idiot. All my years of working in the theatre and I never knew about this.

[PattiLover]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 4:58pm

"So which of these productions will have bad luck? I can't wait to find out!"

Well it will obviously be the Wildhorn show.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 6:18pm

I say Macbeth in the theatre all the time. I'll usually say it on opening night and nothing ever happens. I'm not superstitious and since Obama is not an actor I wouldn't expect him to know of this inane tradition. If this is "news" I think I'm ready for bed.

[singtopher]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 7:30pm

I can't believe I voted for that yahoo.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 7:48pm

My high school's tradition with that show:
1989 Production - Student falls out of loft and dies.
1996 Production - Main drape catches fire.
2002 Production - Macbeth gets ill and leaves with a week to opening night.
2003 Production - Macbeth gets his hand sliced open on stage during the final scene. Malcolm (me) stabs foot with sword during the final moment.

Incidents with saying it caused by me:
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" - while constructing one of the large trees that was used, it collapses...a good 15 minutes after I say Macbeth (not knowing the superstition...I was a freshman). Another person says it, and our Set Crew Head/Theseus ruptures his spleen playing touch football during a lunch break.

"Seeing Stars in Dixie" - teasing someone, I foolishly say it four times. Three days later 2 cast members, our stage manager and our director come down with a severe case of the flu and miss opening night.

Am I leary of it? Yes.

[rjjn]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 8:07pm

Wow, the 1989 thing sounds sad. I can't imagine anything like that happening at my school, but I guess you never know.

[TheCharleston]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 8:52pm

Why does your high school put on MACBETH so many times????

[JudasIscariot]

Posted: 2/12/09 at 10:52pm

At least he wasn't seeing Our American Cousin, that show's a killer.

[winston89]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 9:49am

JudasIscariot,

I was going to say that I would rather he say Macbeth then sit through a performance of Our American Cousin. But, you beat me to it.

I don't believe in the curse at all. My voice teacher sang an aria from the opera for an audition. She is an understudy in an off Broadway show and was working on it with the music director between shows on a two show day. One of the cast members asked her what opera she was singing from and when she said Macbeth, they all gasped. She basically told them to can it because nothing will happen from her saying it.

[TheCharleston]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 11:29am

So?

That doesn't mean anything.

What a pointless story! Just another excuse to try and show off, Winston?

For some (myself included), bad luck in the theatre has followed us for not originally believing in the curse.

I mocked the entire idea a long time ago... my Freshman year of high school. Ever since then, I have injured myself (usually consisting of sprained ankles, broken toes, etc.) on every single production I work on.

It's really quite sad!

It didn't stop until I finally gave in and did the whole "reversal" thing. Trust me, Winsty poo. It's real.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 12:43pm

WHat made the whole thing worse was he was wearing a headdress made completely out of PEACOCK FEATHERS!

[winston89]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 2:40pm

TheCharlston, I think you seem to forget that I don't really care what you or anyone else on this forum thinks of me. I mean, at the end of the day it's just an internet message board. I think that when it comes down to it, You spend too much time on here thinking about who you like and who you don't. Because it is crystal clear that you do, that only proves that fact that I am better then you. I am in college getting an education and doing something with my life. What are you doing with yours? Nothing, but spending the days insulting people you have and never will meet on a public online forum. Now, that is what I call sad and pathetic.

[Guillermo Ugarte]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 3:04pm

Just a brief clarification from an old theater dog. This superstition only applies to theater folk and only when they are in the theater for the purpose of working on or in a production. Audience members and civilians or presidents are exempt. I guess the people reporting this did not have anything else to talk about that day. It seems as if we are reaching for news these days. Perhaps not having a president who makes grammatical flubs or idiotic statements is making for slow news days. Don't we all miss Dubya?

[TheCharleston]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 3:25pm

"I am in college getting an education and doing something with my life. What are you doing with yours?"


Raising a family, managing a children's theatre school, and teaching at a University. Sufficient enough for you..? I know. It's beyond your belief that anyone besides you can be a positive and active member of Society. But just wait a moment and really take that in.

You have a rather interesting track record at TRYING to sound smarter than you truly are. Just be yourself. Don't try to impress anyone. You say you don't care what I or anyone else think. But your actions speak differently.

[NGeorgiaBwayFan]

Posted: 2/13/09 at 7:40pm

I thought it only applies to referring to the character's name, not the name of the play.