Charles Synyard (@CharlesSynyard)

2/4 “All the kids were walking around in squeaky shoes, and some of them were limping because of the pennies they had in them. Everyone was muttering to themselves, ‘Angels and ministers of grace, defend us.‘ Beth thought it was pretty dumb to believe in the superstitions, but it was kind of fun, anyway. It was like a game they were all playing.” (94) Macbeth! Is the Scottish Play cursed? The gullible theater kids at Wakeman “Wacko” Junior High certainly seem to think so, or at least play along. This seems rather insipid to me, but superstitions and whether or not to go along with them has long been a popular theme, and The Witches of Wakeman, the twentieth book in the Fabulous Five series by Betsy Haynes, makes it a major topic. After a mirror falls backstage during tryouts for the Halloween show, which includes the three witches from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the drama teacher Mr. Levine decides he should tell the kids about the associated superstitions. “‘…first I want to tell you something about the superstition surrounding the production of Macbeth, the play this caldron scene was taken from.’ “‘Superstition?‘ asked Molly, who was standing at the back of the stage near the curtain. She glanced over her shoulder at the dark wings and took a couple of steps forward. ‘What superstition?’ “‘Well,’ said Mr. Levine, and he cleared his throat, ‘dating back to Shakespeare’s time, there has been bad luck surrounding the production of the play.’ “‘But Shakespeare wrote the play!‘ someone called out. ‘Do you mean there’s been bad luck since the first time it was produced?’ ”’That’s right,’ Mr. Levine said. ‘On the very first opening night back in 1606, the actor playing the role of Lady Macbeth went home with a stomachache after the performance and died in his sleep. William Shakespeare himself had to take over the role... ever since then, productions all over the world have had bad luck when they produce Macbeth. It’s said that there’s a curse associated with the witches’ “double, double“ speech.‘“ (13-14) Apparently the story of the actor who died, Hal Berridge, is often repeated but of uncertain veracity. https://shaksper.net/archive/2001/184-august/13954-hal-berridge-and-the-first-performance-of-macbeth I remember learning about the Macbeth superstition in an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? I‘ve always disregarded such things, but Mr. Levine seems keen on encouraging them. I’m pretty sure there’s no basis for what he says next, egging the kids on. “Mr. Levine spoke again. ‘Shakespeare may have taken the witches’ speech from ancient runes—‘ “‘”Runes”?’ asked Melanie. ‘What’re they?’ “‘Runes are ancient words and phrases that supposedly have mysterious power associated with them.’ ”’Wow,’ Molly breathed. “‘Not that I believe in things like that the way many theater people do,‘ Mr. Levine assured them. ‘But we may as well be aware of the superstition. There’s no sense taking chances.’” (14-15) Oh no, I’m not like those people. But still, let’s be cautious. Molly McHugh, introduced in this book and implicitly suspect in the strange occurences, falls particularly hard for the hokum. When Laura McCall’s wand from her Wizard of Oz scene goes missing, she shouts, ”‘It’s the Macbeth curse! I just realized it! The witches said the “Double, double“ speech and now another bad thing has happened.’ “The auditorium got deathly still, and Beth felt a shiver run through her. It was true that a lot of things were going wrong on the set, but there couldn’t really be a curse—could there?” (39-40) Beth Barry, to her credit, seems the least easily spooked of the bunch, but there are really no hard “there’s a rational explanation for all of this“ holdouts, which strikes me as strange. Some kids are so spooked they drop out after the auditions, leaving many parts double-cast in a show that will not only play at Wakeman, but at the three feeding elementary schools. I suppose a theater instructor faced with this can be excused for finding ways to reassure the credulous. ”I’ve been doing some research on the Macbeth superstition… I don’t really believe in it myself, but if it will make you feel better, there were things listed in the book we can do to protect ourselves from the curse and bring good luck instead. Of course, they’re superstitions, too. “‘What? What?’ Molly’s voice bubbled up from the crowd. The other kids stepped aside as she gently pushed her way to the front. ‘I don’t want any other bad things to happen,’ she said. ‘What can we do?’ “Mr. Levine looked around at the kids. ‘There are several things,’ he said. ‘First of all, never say the name of the play that the witches’ speech is from. ”’You mean, Macbeth?’ Melanie said, then slapped both hands over her mouth. “‘Right,‘ Mr. Levine said grimly. ‘Don't say it, especially inside the theater where we rehearse and perform.’ “‘What else?’ Dekeisha asked. ”’You can protect yourself from forgetting your lines by sleeping on your script,‘ he said. “‘It’ll get all messy!’ someone complained. ”’Place it under your pillow,‘ Mr. Levine said. ‘And if you put a penny in your shoe, your scene will be a success. Or if you wear squeaky shoes, the whole performance will be good.’” (76-77) Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Imagine if Gab crashed ten seconds after I posted this. Even that isn’t the end of it. The kids just lap it up! Later on, Mr. Levine even cautions them against saying “Good luck!”, telling them instead to use “Break a leg!”, (99-100). I’ve always hated that expression. Maybe Wakeman should add a Defense Against the Dark Arts class to the curriculum. But it is amusing to read about everyone falling for it, even as I roll my eyes, which I guess is why superstitions are such a recurring theme in entertainment. But there is one good practice Mr. Levine recommends next, which surprised me. “‘Okay, so if anyone accidentally says the name of the play the witches’ speech is taken from...’ said Mr. Levine, looking at the faces in front of him. “‘Something bad will happen,’ everyone said in unison. “‘There is something else you can do to escape from the curse,‘ said Mr. Levine. “‘What?’ asked Dekeisha. ”’Say this line,’ Mr. Levine continued. ‘Angels and ministers of grace, defend us.’” (78) Had never heard of this before, but it is clearly a pious survival from pre-Reformation England, when prayer to the angels and saints was commonplace. Not something you could go wrong repeating on the offchance you weren’t fully convinced there was a conventional explanation for everything. Beth, meanwhile, can’t help comparing herself to Laura McCall. While a far superior actor, she becomes very insecure about her physical appearance not measuring up, as I’ll post on next. #BetsyHaynes #TheWitchesOfWakeman #FabulousFive #Macbeth #DoubleDoubleToilAndTrouble #witches #superstitions #superstition #angels #saints #Catholic #acting #theater #childrensliterature #childrensbooks #literature #books