Oliveras as Macbeth at Boscobel

Maria-Christina Oliveras '01 plays the part of Macbeth (above, L) at Boscobel this summer. She attended high school in New Rochelle. (Oliveras photos)

One of Yale's own will be among the performers who take the stage Aug. 14 at Boscobel in Garrison this summer, when Yale alumni and friends gather for YWAA's evening under the tent at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival.  Maria-Christina Oliveras '01 plays the featured role Macbeth in Macbeth. Yes, she plays the historical male role in an innovative production and all-female cast. 

New York Times reviewer David DeWitt wrote recently audience members won't have an issue with three actresses playing roles written for men when Shakespeare penned the play during his time.  DeWitt assessed, "(the women), their individual qualities evident, simply act the play, their characters seemingly stripped down beyond gender to their essence."  He describes Oliveras as "terrific" and praises the trio's performance, which "commands engagement as it plumbs the internal life of these characters, revealing their fragile emotions." 

The YWAA evening includes the traditional pre-performance lecture by Yale's Professor Murray Biggs, a picnic lunch, and Oliveras on stage at 7 pm.  Tickets for the lecture and Macbeth are on sale.  Click YWAA-Boscobel.

Oliveras also appears in the HVSF's summer production of As You Like It, where she has singing roles.  "She seems to be having a great time in the role," The Times' DeWitt wrote.

Oliveras, a Bronx native, is an adjunct instructor in Theater Studies at Yale, where she majored in the same when she was an undergraduate in New Haven.  Before Yale, she was a student at the Ursuline School in New Rochelle.

She has appeared in productions on Broadway, off-Broadway and in television and film. On Broadway, she had roles in Machinal and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.  Off-Broadway at the Public Theater, she sang a featured role in Here Lies Love and appeared in Romeo and Juliet. At Yale, she has taught acting, has returned other times to speak to students and has conducted seminars.

After the show Aug. 14, Oliveras and her fellow actresses will greet and speak to the Yale group.