Ford Theater Event / was RE:Rehearsal Photos from David Selby's Upcoming Play

[Midnite]

More coverage of the reopening event...

What a beautiful theater. Those of you who are attending are so fortunate.

That poster for the play is really cool.  I love that he has his natural-colored hair and beard.

[CyrusL]

Hi all,
Yes, we're still around somewhere.  Just curious who else is going to the play here? Diane and I have some fairly good seats for this Saturday's (2/21/09) matinee. I'll try to get a few photos if allowed around the theatre itself.
        Diane and I visited Ford's last in 2005. On the anniversary of Lincoln's assassination. Even at that time we were in the museum then in the basement noting which sculptures had the best resemblances to our dear David.
        BTW, we hope to back at this summer's festival. (But that's another topic, let's stay on the theatre topic here.)

Michael

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I'm way behind on my e-mail, so I just found the notices for these articles today:

Log Cabin Republican
Ford's unveils a revitalized space and a beautifully realized new work
(This one mentions DS and features a nice photo of Selby. What more could we ask for?  )

Barack Obama pays tribute to Lincoln in 'hallowed space'
(This one also mentions DS but features a not so nice photo of Selby as he's unrecognizable if you didn't already know it was him - though he is identified, which is more than some reports have done.  )

[CyrusL]

We got a mention on the "Creepy Classics and Monster Bash News"
http://www.monsterbashnews.com/

Michael
 

[MsCriseyde]

bookish Presidential hand-wringing has never seemed so sexy

"Abe's in Arms" from DCist:
http://dcist.com/2009/02/abes_in_arms_the_heavens_are_hung_i.php

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Another article:

Curtain up
Ford's Theatre gussied up for Lincoln bicentennial

[Pansity]

Nice to see so much press coverage of this, from diverse types of outlets.  Not the niche event one might think at first, limited to history wonks and/or those interested in all things Lincoln.

Thanks to everyone who's taken the time and effort to post links to articles here. I've really enjoyed the different takes on the play - not to mention some of the marvelous pictures of the theater, etc.

Jeannie

[MsCriseyde]

The theatre now has some nice video and photos from the opening gala:

http://fords.org/home/media-center/releases-and-updates/birth-and-rebirth-celebration-lincoln-bicentennial-and-fords-

[MsCriseyde]

News item about a group of folks who traveled by bus from Martinsburg, WV to Washington, DC to see the play this past Saturday evening. David Selby met with them afterward for a brief Q&A:
http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/516462.html

[Miranda]

I went to David's play the Heavens are Hung in Black at Ford's Theatre last night, and while the play was a bit metaphysical for my taste, ie, with Lincoln having visits from the Ghosts of John Brown, Dred Scott, and the late Apothecarey from his hometown of Springfield, IL, nonetheless the play was very clever and well done.  David was in practically every scene as Abe Lincoln and gave a memorable performance.  He even received a standing ovation at the end of the play, which was richly deserved.  Mr. Selby is a wonderful actor.  While the performance I saw him in years ago in Much Ado About Nothing might have been more my cup of tea, still, I greatly enjoyed watching Mr. Selby's masterful performance in the Heavens are Hung in Black.

There was a crowd standing around after the play and I don't know if they were waiting for the elevator to the garage or to see David at the stage door, but at least I did not hear anyone say this time, oh, yes, he is the one who played the Werewolf, which I did after I saw Daivd in Much Ado About Nothing in 1992, a play I dearly loved.

[Pansity]

Nice to hear some thoughts and opinions from someone else who's seen the play.  Matter of fact, I'm typing this reply from my motel in DC, where I've made the second trip from NYC to see it (and do mini vacation in DC -- would be bizarre to me to drive this far and not enjoy the city).

What I find interesting is that the aspects of the play that you weren't that fond of were the aspects that I really liked.  It reminded me of the types of productions which I used to go to every summer at the late, lamented Shakespeare festival in Stratford, CT.  They used to experiment with the classics; one I remember particularly clearly from the early 80s was a production of Julius Caesar,  reset in the 1960s with all the assassination echoes you would imagine that would create.  And I DO envy you having seen him in Much Ado; I love Shakespeare and I would dearly have liked to have seen him in that.

James Sill did a wonderful job with the script, I agree.  And in thinking about your points, I'm now wondering if any other mechanism other than what he used would have brought the conflicts and decisions forth to the audience in the same way.  So much of that was used to illustrate the internal conflicts, and now I am wondering whether any other dramatic device could have worked the same way to make the audience understand those points.  I particularly liked the fact that they didn't assume any preexisting knowledge on the part of the audience, and gave the non history buff all they would need to understand and enjoy the story as a story.  However, it was done so that history wonks like me (and a lot of other people I encountered at the theater), who know a lot of this stuff through their reading, wouldn't stop paying attention.

He owned the stage when I was there for previews, and I can but assume the cast has done nothing but fine tune an already good job since then.  Both nights most of the audience stood and applauded, but not quite enough that it qualified as a standing ovation. They only took two curtaincalls, and the audience stood and clapped for a long time, hoping they would return, but no.     

FYI when I left, I did hear a few kids discussing DS and the werewolf....  But I left through the doors to the street, as I was taking the Metro back to my way cheaper motel in Arlington.

OH! And when I was at the theater yesterday for the Ranger talk, I noticed something new in the bookstore, that hadn't been there preview week. Autographed copies of Lincoln's Better Angel.

If you or anyone else wants to compare noteson the play, the review I wrote is on my site, and the link is in my sig below (you guys know the drill....)

Jeannie

[MsCriseyde]

Blog post from someone who attended last night's performance:

http://mwrhodes.blogspot.com/2009/03/president-lincoln-me-and-night-at.html

[MsCriseyde]

There's now a page for the play in the photo gallery of the official David Selby site:

http://www.davidselby.com/photos/heavens/index.htm

[MsCriseyde]

Over 350 production shots from photographer T. Charles Erickson:

http://c.photoshelter.com/c/tcharleserickson/gallery-show/G0000HTtyoId6Pq4/

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Only 357 photos?! One would think he would have brought a camera with an SD card with more capacity - or at least several SD cards. 

All kidding aside, there are some great photos there. Thanks for the link.