![An actor portraying Abraham Lincoln holds an actor portraying his young son and kisses his forehead.](https://tess.fords.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/heavens-banner-2880x1400-1.jpg)
The Heavens are Hung in Black
To celebrate our grand reopening and the bicentennial of President Lincoln’s birth, Ford’s Theatre has commissioned a new play, The Heavens Are Hung In Black by award-winning playwright James Still. Heavens will be the first play offered in the newly renovated Ford’s Theatre.
Highlighting the five months between the death of Lincoln’s son Willie and the delivery of the Emancipation Proclamation, Heavens will offer audiences a glimpse into the person who was Abraham Lincoln. Faced with unbearable personal, political and historical pressures, Lincoln copes with the world around him and eventually, through an amazing transformation of thinking, conquers it. Don’t miss this exciting world premiere perfect to reopen the historic Ford’s Theatre.
Artistic Team
Cast
![](https://tess.fords.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/david-selby-410x410-2-1024x1024.jpg)
David Selby
Abraham Lincoln
![Silhouette of a human head on black.](https://tess.fords.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/default-headshot-410x410-1.jpg)
Benjamin Cook
Tad Lincoln
![Silhouette of a human head on black.](https://tess.fords.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/default-headshot-410x410-1.jpg)
Jonathan Fielding
John Hay, Lincoln’s personal secretary
![Silhouette of a human head on black.](https://tess.fords.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/default-headshot-410x410-1.jpg)
Scott Westerman
Ward Lamon, Marshal/Billy Brown
![Silhouette of a human head on black.](https://tess.fords.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/default-headshot-410x410-1.jpg)
David Emerson Toney
Dred Scott/Uncle Tom/Butler/Solider
![Silhouette of a human head on black.](https://tess.fords.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/default-headshot-410x410-1.jpg)
Michael Goodwin
Walt Whitman
![](https://tess.fords.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/steven-carpenter-410x410-5-1024x1024.jpg)
Steven Carpenter
Union Major/Exeter
![Silhouette of a human head on black.](https://tess.fords.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/default-headshot-410x410-1.jpg)
Norman Aronovic
John Brown/Canterbury
![Silhouette of a human head on black.](https://tess.fords.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/default-headshot-410x410-1.jpg)
Robin Mosley
Mary Todd Lincoln
![Silhouette of a human head on black.](https://tess.fords.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/default-headshot-410x410-1.jpg)
Hugh Nees
Stephen Douglas and Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War
![Silhouette of a human head on black.](https://tess.fords.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/default-headshot-410x410-1.jpg)
Edward James Hyland
Secretary of State William Seward/Jefferson Davis
![Silhouette of a human head on black.](https://tess.fords.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/default-headshot-410x410-1.jpg)
Beth Hylton
Mrs. Winston/Young Woman
![Silhouette of a human head on black.](https://tess.fords.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/default-headshot-410x410-1.jpg)
Chaney Tullos
Thomas Haley
![Silhouette of a human head on black.](https://tess.fords.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/default-headshot-410x410-1.jpg)
Benjamin Schiffbauer
Young Solider
![Silhouette of a human head on black.](https://tess.fords.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/default-headshot-410x410-1.jpg)
James Chatham
Willie Lincoln/Newsboy
![Silhouette of a human head on black.](https://tess.fords.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/default-headshot-410x410-1.jpg)
Jonathan Watkins
Bates