Ford’s 2014-2015 Season Announced

Spring 2015 will mark 150 years since Lincoln’s assassination at Ford’s Theatre and the end of the Civil War. Our programming team has tailored the upcoming Ford’s Theatre season’s spring stage productions and special exhibition to focus on the Ford’s 150: Remembering the Lincoln Assassination.

Before the 150th commemorations get underway, we will open the theatrical season in September with DC-theatre greats Nancy Robinette and Craig Wallace starring in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Driving Miss Daisy. Next, Edward Gero will reprise his role as Ebenezer Scrooge in our 33rd annual production of A Christmas Carol.

In the spring, Ford’s 150 programming will include: a world premiere play about Mary Todd Lincoln, titled The Widow Lincoln; and a spring musical with music by Frank Wildhorn and adapted by our One Destiny  playwright/directorial team Richard Hellesen and Mark Ramont. Still in development, the musical, titled Freedom’s Song: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, is inspired by Lincoln’s words and the Civil War. From March-May 2015, we’ll be hosting a landmark exhibition at our Center for Education and Leadership that’ll return priceless items, including the contents of Lincoln’s pockets from night of the assassination, to Tenth Street for the first time since the 1860s. We’ve also planned a 24-hour vigil with city illuminations, Civil War music, historical interpretation, panel discussions and more to mark the hours of Lincoln’s assassination and death on April 14 and 15.

Female Playwright Initiative

Ford’s Director Paul R. Tetreault also announced that Ford’s is committing to a new commissioning initiative featuring women playwrights: Jessica Dickey, Elaine Romero and Karen Zacarías. The three are the first of many to be commissioned to write plays for upcoming seasons.

“For too long, plays by women have been underrepresented on the American theatre stage,” Tetreault said. “Ford’s is making a commitment to showcasing women’s voices and to developing new plays that explore the American experience and Lincoln’s legacy. In addition to participating in the fall 2015 Women’s Voices Theatre Festival in Washington, we have commissioned three amazing playwrights to develop work for us.”

We hope you’ll join us at the Theatre! Visit our season page here for more information.