Lexington, Kentucky, has been called "the cradle of the legitimate theatre west of the Appalachians" since the opening of its first theatre in 1808. Not long after that opening, a fledgling resident acting company presented Macbeth, the town's first professional production of a Shakespearean play. Since then, the local and traveling stars committed to drama drove Lexington's live theatrical glamour to thrive impressively into the twentieth century. Many of the actors who performed in Lexington in the plays of Shakespeare have been forgotten, but their vivid personalities and devotion...