The Man Who Shot Lincoln
Location:
Dates:
Performances:
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Astor Place Theatre
September 12, 1989 - October 01, 1989
24
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The setting of the two-act drama, which is directed by Crandall Diehl, is described in the program notes as
"Backstage at a theater. Perhaps." There are a lot of perhapses in the plot. Without
quite giving the plot away (since it builds up to a trick ending), it can be revealed
that Mr. Creatore's play is really about the Booths. The patriarch of the acting family,
Junius Brutus Booth, appears as a ghostly presence. Edwin Booth and his brother, John
Wilkes Booth, both seem like drunken, womanizing weirdos, which may be one of the few
truthful elements in the play. Edwin was regarded as a fine Shakespearean actor in his
time, but that is not visible here. The most important prop is a whisky bottle. Edwin is
married to Mary Devlin, a prompter and young actress. But he suspects that earlier in her
career she had an affair with John Wilkes. Edwin's jealousy is boundless; he vows
revenge. But John Wilkes seems more interested in his press notices, which he reads on
stage. Edwin's wife also returns as a ghost after he has practically hounded her to
death.
