It is not surprising that the reviews for "Macbeth," which opened Tuesday, are so good. After all, this production headlined by Patrick Stewart only transferred to Broadway because it got such first-rate notices when it played at the Brooklyn Academy of Music earlier this year.

Figure on Stewart, a respected British stage veteran best known stateside for his work on TV ("Star Trek: The Next Generation") and film ("X-Men"), to be a strong contender for the best actor Tony Award. For the London run of the play last year, he won the Evening Standard Award. He was nominated for Foggytown's other top theater prize — the Olivier Award — but lost best actor to another Shakespearean actor, "Othello" star Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Over the centuries, theatrical lore has tagged "Macbeth" as a cursed play. "Hardly anyone ever gets this most tempting of Shakespearean roles right," notes Charles McNulty in his L.A. Times review of Stewart's 'Macbeth,' which he praises. "The Scottish play can really be hellish for its leading man." However, he hails Stewart's stage turn as "mesmerizing" and "a triumph. " (READ MORE)

There is no doubt that the Bard's Scottish play seems to have a hex against it at the Tonys. In the several rialto revivals since the Tony Awards began in 1947, no actor has been nominated for playing the conniving regal usurper. And only one actress, Glenda Jackson in 1988, has received a nod for her portrayal of his cunning wife.

Stewart, and his equally well-received co-star, Kate Fleetwood, could break this Tonys curse that dates back to the first eligible production in 1948. Acclaimed English thespians Sir Michael Redgrave and Dame Flora Robson headlined as the title character and his bad lady wife, but were snubbed by Tony voters. Julie Harris, who would go on to win a record five Tonys, appeared as one of the triumvirate of witches while future Oscar and Tony winner Martin Balsam also had a small part.

Redgrave would get a Tony nod for his return to the rialto in 1956 in best play nominee "Tiger at the Gates," though he lost to Paul Muni of "Inherit the Wind." That was also the year that the acclaimed Old Vic theater company came over from London and presented the play in repertory with three other works by Shakespeare. This embarrassment of riches overwhelmed the critics, but Tony voters preferred contemporary performances. Paul Rogers, who would win a Tony in 1967 for the original production of Harold Pinter's "The Homecoming," appeared as MacBeth while Coral Browne was his leading lady.

A quarter of a century later, a well-received Lincoln Center revival showcased Tony nominees Phillip Anglim ("The Elephant Man") and Maureen Anderman ("The Lady From Dubuque") in a modern dress staging that featured Kelsey Grammer in his Broadway debut. Grammer, a five-time Emmy winner, would go on to star in the most recent revival, an ill-fated, critically ridiculed production in 2000 that ran for an unlucky 13 performances.

In 1982, two-time Tony nominee Nicol Williamson and Andrea Weber tried a classical approach in a Circle in the Square production that met with modest critical success. And in 1986, the Public Theater, with its trademark non-traditional casting, presented the play in repertory with "As You Like It" and "Romeo and Juliet" under the umbrella title of Shakespeare for the Schools.

Two years later, an all-star production, headlined by Christopher Plummer and Glenda Jackson, was a smash hit with audiences, if not critics. Plummer, a 1974 Tony winner for the musical "Cyrano," had been nominated in 1982 for best actor for his scheming Iago opposite James Earl Jones as "Othello." While that production had won the Tony for best revival, this one was lambasted by critics.