in 1936, orson welles was hired by the federal theatre project to direct a groundbreaking production of "macbeth" in harlem with an all african american cast. the production became known as the voodoo macbeth, as welles changed the setting to a 19th-century haiti run by an evil king thoroughly controlled by african magic. initially hostile, the black community took to the production thoroughly, ensuring full houses for ten weeks at the lafayette theatre and prompting a small broadway success and a national tour.