As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Ford's Theatre has recently reopened after a year-long restoration process. In this picture, the left side is all new, and the original theatre where the stage is located (in red brick building to the right) has been restored.A variety of events have been planned for this spring to coincide with Lincoln's 200th birthday. We were able to get tickets for the final weekend of "The Heavens are Hung in Black," a three act play that was commissioned as the opening production.
The play has Lincoln as the central figure (this would seem obvious, but the playbill said he has rarely been a central character in plays) during a 5-month period in 1862 as he wrestles with his grief over the death of his son, Willie, and the idea of issuing the Emancipation Proclamation to free the slaves and win the Civil War.
We had excellent seats in the second row. Although, the theatre is quite intimate, so all seats are probably pretty good. This is the picture that I took from my seat of the box where President Lincoln was sitting the night of his assassination. My understanding is that it is decorated as it was that night. John Wilkes Booth then jumped out of the box and onto the stage. It is believed he caught his boot in the flag, which caused him to land awkwardly and break his leg, and led to his capture a few days later.The museum has not been reopened yet, so we may have to check it out at a later date. I went through before it closed, but I'm curious to see any updates.
