Ford's Theatre Has Announced Their 2020-2021 Season

Ford's Theatre Director Paul R. Tetreault today announced the Ford's Theatre 2020-2021 season will include: Horton Foote's The Trip to Bountiful, directed by Michael Wilson and featuring Nancy Robinette; the D.C.-premiere of a new play based on the real-life friendship of contralto Marian Anderson and physicist Albert Einstein titled My Lord, What a Night, written by Deborah Brevoort and directed by Sheldon Epps; the musical Man of La Mancha, featuring Kevin McAllister and directed by Stephen Rayne; and A Christmas Carol featuring Craig Wallace in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge for the fifth year.

"As I begin my 16th season at Ford's, I am thrilled to collaborate with and feature so many outstanding artists in our work," said Ford's Theatre Director Paul R. Tetreault. "This fall we will celebrate the profound humanity of Horton Foote's storytelling with Nancy Robinette in Michael Wilson's production of The Trip to Bountiful. With director Sheldon Epps, we'll delve into the lesser-known, true friendship of the great Marian Anderson and Albert Einstein and the events that led to Anderson's historic concert at the Lincoln Memorial. In the spring, Kevin McAllister returns to star in a reimagined production of Man of La Mancha, directed by Stephen Rayne. And Craig Wallace will again lead us through Scrooge's transformation in A Christmas Carol during the holiday season."

The Ford's Theatre 2020-2021 season is sponsored by Chevron.

Performances of the Society's actor-led History on Foot walking tours of downtown Washington, D.C., and daytime one-act play performances of One Destiny also continue in the spring of 2021.

Ford's Theatre continues its commitment to accessibility, offering wheelchair accessible seating and restrooms, audio enhancement, Braille and large print playbills for all productions, and mainstage captioning through the GalaPro App. Audio-described and sign-interpreted performances are scheduled for each production. During the 2020-2021 season, Sensory-Friendly performances will be offered for A Christmas Carol and Man of La Mancha (dates to be announced). Ford's Theatre accessibility programming is made possible by the Liberty Mutual Foundation.

For the fifth year, Ford's Theatre continues its commitment to offer more than 1,950 free performance tickets to the company's mainstage productions during the 2020-2021 season. All tickets to the first preview performances of The Trip to Bountiful; My Lord, What a Night; and Man of La Mancha will be offered free of charge via a ticket lottery, and 150 free tickets will be made available for the first performance of A Christmas Carol. The Free First Preview initiative seeks to remove price barriers and build audiences in a more inclusive way, by inviting those who live and work in the Washington community who might not otherwise consider participation in the arts.

The Ford's Theatre 2020-2021 Season

The Trip to Bountiful

By Horton Foote

Directed by Michael Wilson

September 18-October 18, 2020

Carrie Watts dreams of escape from the bustling city and of a return to simpler times in her beloved Bountiful, Texas. She outsmarts her son and daughter-in-law and boards a bus for a hometown that no one seems to know anymore. Along the way, she encounters kindness and compassion from strangers ... and makes a discovery about the true meaning of home. This classic American drama is a touching portrait of family dynamics, what we hold onto and what we leave behind. One of the foremost interpreters of Horton Foote's work, Michael Wilson directs Nancy Robinette as Carrie Watts.

Member Pre-Sale: May 4

Groups and Public Sale: May 6

A Christmas Carol

By Charles Dickens

Adapted by Michael Wilson

Directed by Michael Baron

Featuring Craig Wallace as Scrooge

November 19-December 31, 2020

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 actor Craig Wallace returns for the fifth year to play Ebenezer Scrooge in a production heralded as a "rich visual and vocal treat" (TheaterMania) and "infectiously jolly" (The Washington Post).

Pre-Sale and On-Sale in August 2020

My Lord, What a Night

By Deborah Brevoort

Directed by Sheldon Epps

January 22-February 21, 2121

After performing in Princeton, New Jersey, acclaimed contralto Marian Anderson is denied lodging at the Nassau Inn because of her skin color. Physicist Albert Einstein invites her to stay at his home, and the two form a profound friendship based on their love for music and their commitment to human rights. Based on true events, My Lord, What a Night takes us into Einstein's home and imagines the conversations and circumstances that led to Anderson's historic concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Sheldon Epps (Twelve Angry Men) returns to direct Christopher Bloch as Albert Einstein and Felicia Curry as Marian Anderson in this remarkable new play about courage, justice and our shared humanity.

Pre-Sale and On-Sale in August 2020

Man of La Mancha

Book by Dale Wasserman

Music by Mitch Leigh; Lyrics by Joe Darion

Choreographed by Jessica Hartman

Directed by Stephen Rayne

March 12-May 15, 2021

One of the most beloved musicals of all times, the Tony Award-winning Man of La Mancha is a rousingly bold and imaginative theatrical event inspired by Miguel de Cervantes' life and novel. A delusional man claiming to be Cervantes passes time by reenacting the story of Don Quixote. With great gallantry, our knight-errant teeters between spectacle and lunacy in his quest to right the wrongs of the world. With a gorgeous score that includes hits such as "The Impossible Dream," "Dulcinea" and "I, Don Quixote," Man of La Mancha explores the transformative power of the imagination and the triumph of the human spirit. Kevin McAllister, one of Washington's finest baritones, stars in a new production directed by Stephen Rayne (Parade, Our Town).

Pre-Sale and On-Sale in August 2020.

One Destiny

By Richard Hellesen; Directed by Mark Ramont

March through June 2021

Learn about Lincoln's assassination from two men who were there. This 35-minute play at Ford's Theatre explores the key facts of the assassination while capturing the emotions of that fateful night in 1865.Actor Harry Hawk and Ford's Theatre co-owner Harry Ford, reconstruct the sequence of events and grapple with the question: Could John Wilkes Booth have been stopped? One Destiny was honored with The Washington Post Award for Innovative Leadership in the Theatre Community in 2011 and celebrated its 1,400th performance in June 2019. Performance dates and times for spring 2021 to be announced.

History on Foot Walking Tours:

Investigation: Detective McDevitt

By Richard Hellesen; Directed by Mark Ramont

March through October 2021

Join Detective McDevitt as he re-visits and re-examines the sites and clues surrounding the assassination of our nation's 16th president. This outdoor tour lasts approximately two hours and makes at least eight stops. The distance walked is 1.6 miles from outside of Ford's Theatre to the White House. Please wear comfortable shoes. Performance dates and times for 2021 to be announced.

One of the most visited sites in the nation's capital, Ford's Theatre reopened its doors in 1968, more than a hundred years after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Operated

through a partnership between Ford's Theatre Society and the National Park Service, Ford's Theatre is the premier destination in the nation's capital to explore and celebrate Abraham Lincoln's life and legacy.

Ford's Theatre Society was founded under the guidance of executive producer Frankie Hewitt, who, during her 35-year tenure, established Ford's as a living, Working Theatre producing performances that highlighted the diversity of the American experience. Since the arrival of Paul R. Tetreault as Director, critics and the theatregoing public have recognized Ford's for the superior quality of its artistic programming. With works from the Tony-nominated Come From Away and the nationally acclaimed Big River, to the world premieres of Meet John Doe, The Heavens Are Hung In Black, Liberty Smith, Necessary Sacrifices, The Widow Lincoln and The Guard, Ford's Theatre is making its mark on the American theatre landscape. In the past decade, the mission of Ford's Theatre Society expanded to include education as a central pillar. This expansion led to the creation and construction of the Center for Education and Leadership, which opened in February 2012. Under the current leadership of Board of Trustees Chairman Phebe N. Novakovic and through the lens of Lincoln's leadership and legacy, Ford's today endeavors to advance Lincoln's "unfinished work" with programs and performances that cultivate empathy, encourage dialogue and bridge divides in American life.

For more information on Ford's Theatre and the Ford's Theatre Society, please visit www.fords.org.

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