Macbeth in Harlem

Macbeth in Harlem is a journey into the past that makes the present even more relevant than it would seem to be at first glance, simply because it throws up the past as proof that we have not gone very far in eradicating past inequities as we would liketo think we have. It discusses the ways in which race has made black theater crawl, clown and debase itself. And in spite of that the black persona, the black mask has not only met the challenge and triumphed over it, it has also, through its enviable gifts, enriched American theater beyond ways that would not have been possible without it. Indeed, the book is a challenge to commercial theater in particular, which is where the money is, to own up to its refusal to make black theater that is not race neutral a part of what it offers to the theater going public--