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Regional Reviews: Washington, D.C. Freedom's Song: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War Also see Susan's review of The Originalist and Laugh
Director Jeff Calhoun has taken elements of The Civil War, a musical by Frank Wildhorn, Gregory Boyd, and Jack Murphy which he directed at Ford's some years back, and added the spoken and written words of Abraham Lincoln to provide a framework through which to observe the phases of the war. Calhoun's staging begins and ends with the cast in contemporary street clothes, but that conceit is unnecessary and distracting. As organized by Calhoun, the songs and Lincoln's words complement each other: the commander-in-chief seeing the big picture, the individual singers telling their specific stories as threads in a tapestry. McAllister, as a fugitive slave, has some of the most powerful moments in "If Prayin' Were Horses" (with Ashley D. Buster), "Freedom's Child," and "Father, How Long?"; Gregory Maheu's tenor voice soars in "Northbound Train"; and Olivera quietly breaks the heart with "I Never Knew His Name." The central element of Tobin Ost's set is a slightly skewed, diorama-like space representing the White House and other locations; Union and Confederate flags appear at either side of the stage, and projections designed by Aaron Rhyne show Lincoln, soldiers, slaves, and other representative images from the period. Wade Laboissonniere has designed understated costumes that bring the era to life. Ford's Theatre
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