In Memoriam: Astor Place Riots 1849

FRIGID New York and Peculiar Works Project will present In Memoriam: Astor Place Riots 1849, a special event to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the 1849 Astor Place Riots at UNDER St. Marks (94 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10009) on Friday, May 10 at 5:30pm. Admission is FREE and the performance will run approximately 75 minutes with no intermission.

Every theater-lover should know the story of the Astor Place Riots, but it’s about much more than a fight between the two biggest actors of the day. The Riots are a national tragedy unlike any other.

May 10, 1849, New York City: the bitter theatrical rivalry between two of the world’s best Shakespearean actors — American Edwin Forrest and British William Charles Macready —reaches a crescendo. On the last night of Macready’s third farewell tour of the U.S., thousands of Forrest supporters surrounded the Astor Place Opera House. The police and even military stepped in, and shortly thereafter, all hell broke loose. By day’s end, over 20 people were dead and hundreds wounded.

For its 175th anniversary, Peculiar Works Project will commemorate this tragic event with a unique memorial service, including musical tributes and comical reenactments. It will celebrate the power of theater, its legacy of influence in New York City, and the thespians who dedicated their lives to it. But the dead were not just theater-lovers, they were also young rowdies, frightened neighbors and unsuspecting passersby.

Step back into the turbulent mid-1800s and bear witness to this cautionary tale that shares many parallels to today’s extreme political culture. Fearful and growing territorialism, the perils of mob mentality, and what it means to be American are relevant once again. Observance of this unique theatrical moment, one of America’s most shameful events, is a solemn, satirical response to today’s nativism and xenophobia, closing with a procession to the site where it happened.

The cast will feature Maria Dessena, Mick Hilgers, Ralph Lewis, Catherine Porter, Basil Rodericks, Barry Rowell, Trav S.D., Dane Lane Williams, and Zero Boy.

Peculiar Works Project was founded by Ralph Lewis, Catherine Porter, and Barry Rowell in 1993 to create, develop, and present original, multi-disciplinary, site-based performances that investigate essential issues, both contemporary and timeless. Our award-winning company encourages collaboration, experimentation, and a rebel spirit in artists by providing them with the tools and opportunities needed for artistic exploration. We perform in unconventional, non-theater spaces because we believe artistic work wakes up a site, the site in turn transforms our collaborators’ work, and audiences then experience both in surprising new ways. Through unique locations—city streets, landmarked buildings, gutted storefronts, and other peculiar sites throughout NYC and beyond—and unusual performances, Peculiar Works brings diverse communities of artists and audiences together in shared cultural conversations about the important issues of our time.

FRIGID New York’s mission is to provide both emerging and established artists the opportunity to create and produce original work of varied content, form, and style, and to amplify their diverse voices. We do this by presenting an array of monthly programming, mainstage productions, an artist residency, and eight annual theater festivals that create an environment of collaboration, resourcefulness, and innovation. Founded in 1998, the aim was and is to form a structure, allowing multiple artists to focus on creating and staging new work and providing affordable rental space to scores of independent artists. Now in our third decade, we have produced a massive quantity of stimulating downtown theater.

• Drama
• $0.00
• May 10, 2024
• 75 minutes
• 17:30
• Under St Marks