Euan Morton to Star in PARADE at Ford's Theatre; Season Announced!

Washington, D.C.'s Ford's Theatre has just announced their full 2011-12 season, which is set to include productions of PARADE, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, 1776, and more.

Ford's Theatre's mission is to celebrate the legacy of Abraham Lincoln and to explore the American experience through theatre and education. The Ford's Theatre Society works to present the Theatre's nearly one million visitors each year with a high quality historic and cultural experience. Its work is what makes this vibrant historic site an important tool for promoting the ideals of leadership, humanity and wisdom espoused by Abraham Lincoln.

With works from the nationally acclaimed Big River to the world premieres of Meet John Doe and The Heavens Are Hung In Black, Ford's Theatre is making its mark on the American theatre landscape. Within the near future, Ford's Theatre will also be recognized as a major center for learning, where people of all ages can examine the events of that fateful evening in 1865 and experience the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln.

The 2011-12 season is as follows:

Parade
Book by Alfred Uhry
Music and Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Co-conceived by Harold Prince
Choreographed by Karma Camp
Directed by Stephen Rayne
September 23-October 30, 2011

The Tony Award-winning musical drama Parade features the true story of Leo Frank's trial and lynching in early 20th-century Atlanta. Ostracized for his faith and Northern heritage, Jewish factory manager Leo Frank is accused of murdering a teenaged factory girl the day of the annual Confederate Memorial Day parade. Alfred Uhry's award-winning book and Jason Robert Brown's rousing, colorful and haunting score illuminate a circus of conflicting accounts, false testimony and mishandled evidence in a town reeling with social and racial tension. Isolated from the world, Leo develops a new and deeper love for his wife, who tirelessly crusades for his freedom. Stephen Rayne (The Heavens Are Hung In Black, Sabrina Fair) directs this compelling and provocative tale of justice miscarried, revealing a country at odds with its declarations of equality. Tony-Award nominee Euan Morton stars as Leo Frank. Parade is a co-production with Theater J and is presented in association with the Anti-Defamation League and Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington.

Members/Group Pre-Sale: March 23, 2011, at 10 a.m.
Public Sale: March 30, 2011, at 10 a.m.

A Christmas Carol
By Charles Dickens
Adapted by Michael Wilson
Directed by Michael Baron; original staging recreated by Mark Ramont
November 18-December 31, 2011

Join the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future as they lead the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge on a journey of transformation and redemption. Originally conceived by Michael Baron, this music-infused production captures the magic and joy of Dickens's Yuletide classic. Acclaimed Washington stage actor Edward Gero returns to play Scrooge in the production The Washington Post hailed as "musically high-spirited" and "infectiously jolly."

Members/Group Pre-Sale: August 15, 2011, at 10 a.m.
Public Sale: August 29, 2011, at 10 a.m.

Ford's Theatre Commission
By Richard Hellesen
January 20-February 12, 2012

In his fourth commission for Ford's Theatre, playwright Richard Hellesen explores the two documented encounters between Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln during a period of national crisis. As Lincoln searches for a way to end slavery in the summers of 1863 and 1864, Douglass's rhetoric and conviction challenges the president to envision a post-emancipation world. Together, the men imagine not only a unified nation but a society that brings truth to the Constitution's assertion that "all men are created equal." Hellesen's previous works for Ford's Theatre include One Destiny, Investigation: Detective McDevitt and The Road from Appomattox, three gripping and insightful explorations of critical moments in Civil War history. The world premiere of this work will coincide with the opening of the Center for Education and Leadership, which will include new galleries exploring the immediate aftermath of Lincoln's assassination and the evolution of his legacy.

Members/Group Pre-Sale: August 15, 2011, at 10 a.m.
Public Sale: August 29, 2011, at 10 a.m.

1776
Book by Peter Stone
Music by Sherman Edwards
Choreographed by Michael Bobbitt
Directed by Peter Flynn
March 9-May 19, 2012

With quick-witted dialogue and a playful score, 1776 dramatizes the impassioned debates of Philadelphia's Second Continental Congress. As George Washington sends updates from the military front, patriots John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson attempt to persuade the 13 colonies to separate from British rule. Motivated by a series of abuses from King George, America's first politicians forge a new democracy by composing the Declaration of Independence. Based on the letters and memoirs of America's founding fathers, this classic, Tony Award-winning musical showcases the principles, pride and determination that influenced the birth of our nation.

Members/Group Pre-Sale: August 15, 2011, at 10 a.m.
Public Sale: August 29, 2011, at 10 a.m

Ford's Theatre will also continue its performances of One Destiny and its History on Foot walking tours. Follow the links for more information and on-sale dates.

For additional information, click here. 

Photo Credit: Genevieve Rafter-Keddy