Widow’s Pique: The Widow Lincoln
Ford's Theatre sheds light on the controversial Mary Todd Lincoln
“She was crazy right? Are you playing her as crazy?”
It’s a question invariably asked of Mary Bacon, when people learn she’s starring as Mary Todd Lincoln in Ford’s Theatre’s The Widow Lincoln.
Her answer? Essentially, no. “It’s so interesting,” Bacon says. “My mom was manic-depressive, so I know what crazy is. And [Lincoln’s] behavior does not seem that” — at least not by today’s more nuanced understanding of mental health. True, President Lincoln’s widow was eventually committed to a mental institution by her own adult son, but back then, Bacon explains, “Men could have [women] institutionalized just by going to court and saying they’re crazy…. There was so much misogyny in that time.”
A big rap against Lincoln was how emotional, even hysterical, she was after her husband’s death. “I think now we would see that as a normal reaction to horrific loss. What’s wrong with you if you’re not responding that way?”
Especially so, given that, as playwright James Still puts it, her “husband was murdered while she was sitting next to him, holding his hand.” There’s also the fact that Lincoln was still grieving the loss of two sons as well as several brothers and brothers-in-law in the Civil War.
Still’s first commission for Ford’s, The Heavens Are Hung in Black, which christened the renovated historic theater, left him “hungry to know more about Mary.” The gay playwright thus created a play that offers insight into the controversial first lady as well as a few of her female confidants. Explains Bacon: “It’s eight women on stage. Most plays about the Civil War don’t have anything to do with women [and their] response to it. And I think that in itself is a great reason to see this play.”
In addition to its strong all-female cast, led by Bacon’s commanding work as Lincoln, the world-premiere production’s locale is another persuasive argument to see the show. Ford’s Theatre factors into the play’s proceedings. Says Still: “Hopefully The Widow Lincoln will be done in other theaters, but it’ll never be done in the theater where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.”
The Widow Lincoln runs to Feb. 22 at Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th St. NW. Tickets are $15 to $62. Call 800-982-2787 or visit fordstheatre.org.
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