The American Tragedy: an Audio Drama

[Wich2]

APRIL 14TH:

150 years ago tonight (that year, Good Friday), at about 10:13pm, the vainglorious, racist, cowardly actor John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln from behind.

In this painting, "Borne By Loving Hands" by eyewitness Carl Bersch, the 16th President is being carried across the street from Ford's Theater to the Peterson Rooming house, where he would pass into life eternal at about 7:22am the next morning.

I have been blessed to portray my fellow Midwesterner several times, including in our Quicksilver Radio Theater dramatization of this terrible day in America's history:

http://www.radiodramarevival.com/podcas ... s-2009.mp3

-Craig Wichman

[Le Chiffre]

Thanks for sharing that, Craig. That's a very impressive show, and an impressive performance as Lincoln, witty too; reminded me more of Gore Vidal's Lincoln than John Drinkwater's Lincoln as dramatized by Welles himself. Has your Quicksilver group ever done any Welles-related stuff?

[Wich2]

Thanks, Chief.

I see the chance to play men like Lincoln as a sacred honor, and there's as much research in the piece into the man and his times as I could fit into an hour. (But though I think I get your point, I'm not a fan of Vidal's somewhat Nixonian take on the man.)

We haven't done anything directly Wellesian*; but as my interests seem to intersect with his, I've also done Scrooge, Holmes, and Brutus. And this coming Halloween, Dracula.

Your taking the time to listen, and your gracious words, are much appreciated.

Best,
-Craig

*P.S. - There is, of course, our name...

[Le Chiffre]

It was a pleasure to listen to. Your group is very talented. You should consider doing an unfilmed Welles screenplay sometime (ie. Heart of Darkness, Way To Santiago, Dreamers) or one of the missing Mercury radio shows, the scripts of which are available at the Lilly Library. I look forward to listening to more from your group.

I used the Vidal comparison because he uses John Hays' diaries to illustrate that Lincoln in private could actually be a bit of a character, a compulsive storyteller for example, not entirely the grave and somber tragic figure as Welles presents him. Your broadcast captures some of that lighter spirit.

No question he was a complex and mysterious man, though, and there are those who still consider the dark side of Lincoln's presidency. Here's a documentary on the assassination that features Welles nemesis Charles Hingham - at about the 21 minute mark - offering his own conspiracy theory about what happened:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IUp_wSNe3M

[tonyw]

Well,it's a conspiracy! Seriously, Aldrich suggested it in his never filmed prologue to TWILIGHT'S LAST GLEAMING influenced by the Living Newspaper of the New Deal Theatre and Orson was interested in the RFK assassination.

[Wich2]

>I used the Vidal comparison because he uses John Hays' diaries to illustrate that Lincoln in private could actually be a bit of a character, a compulsive storyteller for example, not entirely the grave and somber tragic figure as Welles presents him. Your broadcast captures some of that lighter spirit.<

Thanks. I tried for that in the writing and the playing, as it is borne out by countless first-hand memories in the historical record. And as I wrote here before in the thread about the Mercury LINCOLN, the stentorian take on the character that Orson chose - though he was not alone in that choice, in that era - is really off-base.

>No question he was a complex and mysterious man, though, and there are those who still consider the dark side of Lincoln's presidency.<

Well, complex as many of we fellow humans are! Probably manic depressive, and with somewhat clumsy interactions with the opposite sex.
"Dark," I do not see in his Presidency, though; a bit "hard," yes, in some of his war-fighting measures.

>Here's a documentary on the assassination that features Welles nemesis Charles Hingham - at about the 21 minute mark - offering his own conspiracy theory about what happened:<

Higham's not the most respected author! But as Tony says, there most emphatically was a conspiracy - the government was very upfront about that in the trials afterwards. What isn't documented well, is how many Secesh sympathizers like Sanders were involved behind the scenes, or at least knew more than they admitted to publicly.

-Craig

[Wich2]

2016 free listen invite:

http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuk ... ar-it-free