Dreyfuss, de Shields et al. Lead Cooper Unions' 'Great Evenings...' Celebration, 2/25

On Thursday, February 25, 2010, the final performance of The Cooper Union's Great Evenings in The Great Hall will celebrate the 150th anniversary of The Cooper Union and the 150th anniversary of presidential-hopeful Abraham Lincoln's pivotal proclamation "Right Makes Might." Widely considered the turning point for the still-obscure Illinois senator, Lincoln's forceful appearance at The Cooper Union in February 1860 is credited with helping him secure the nomination for president. His stirring speech has proven to be one of the most influential presentations ever given in The Great Hall, a peerless host of American culture and political discourse.

Academy Award and Golden Globe winner Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws, The Goodbye Girl, Close Encounters) will lead a cast of acclaimed actors in voicing the powerful words that changed the nation, including Tony nominee and Emmy and Obie awards winner André De Shields (The Wiz, The Full Monty); Tony nominee and Drama Desk and Obie awards winner Kathleen Chalfant (Angels in America, Wit); and film actor, Tony nominee and Drama Desk award winner Stephen Lang (Avatar, The Speed of Darkness). Lincoln scholar and co-chairman of the United States Lincoln Bicentennial Commission Harold Holzer will introduce the evening of fiery oration filled with period music to heighten the drama. Accomplished theater veteran Michael Unger will helm the production. Unger has directed several other performances of Great Evenings in The Great Hall, including the moving Art and Literature and the dynamic Radical Politics.

Showtime for Right Makes Might is 6:30 PM in The Great Hall, located in The Foundation Building of The Cooper Union, 7 East 7th Street b/w 3rd and 4th Aves, NYC 10003. The performance is free, however tickets are required. Ticket distribution will begin at 4 PM on event day in front of The Foundation Building on a first-come, first-served basis, one ticket per person.

In memory of John Jay Iselin, 10th President of The Cooper Union, this program is the second annual John Jay Iselin lecture, a collaboration of The Cooper Union and the New York State Archives Partnership Trust.

For more information, visit http://www.cooper.edu, call 212-353-4195 or email events@cooper.edu. Follow Cooper Union on Twitter at http://twitter.com/cooperunion.

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is a distinguished private college of art, architecture and engineering founded in 1859 by Peter Cooper, an inventor, industrialist and philanthropist. Since its establishment, all students have received full-tuition scholarships. To mark its 150th anniversary, between April 2009 and February 2010, the college is presenting a series of eight events celebrating the historic role Cooper Union's Great Hall played in movements that have furthered the rights of all Americans and contributed to the advancement of science and art.