The Ford's Theatre Society hosts a dinner event with author Jay Winik and Director Mark Ramont at The Caucus Room (401 9th Street, NW), on Monday, January 25, 2010. During the event, Winik will provide historical context for the 1858 Abraham Lincoln-Stephen Douglas debates, and Ramont will offer an exclusive look at the creative process for The Rivalry.
The thee-course seated dinner begins with cocktails and passed hors d'œuvres at 6:30 p.m. Dinner is $95 per person including tax and gratuity. Seating is limited. Guests are encouraged to place reservations by January 19, 2010, by calling The Caucus Room at (202) 393-1300. A credit card number is required to hold reservations. Cancellations made after January 19, 2010, will be charged in full.
The Rivalry
by Norman Corwin
directed by Mark Ramont
January 22-February 14, 2010
Over the course of seven debates, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas tackled the hot topics of their day: state's rights, slavery and the intent of the Constitution. The Rivalry captures the fiery rhetoric and wry humor of those debates, while adding the insights of Douglas's wife, Adele. As Lincoln and Douglas race for the chance to be U.S. Senator, Adele reexamines her own concepts of freedom. Ford's Theatre Director of Theatre Programming Mark Ramont directs Robert Parsons as Abraham Lincoln, Helen Hayes Award winner Rick Foucheux as Stephen Douglas and Sarah Zimmerman (The Matchmaker) as Adele. The New York Times calls the play "evocative, inspiring, and stirring theatre."
THE SPEAKERS
Mark Ramont makes his Ford's Theatre directorial debut with The Rivalry. Ramont is Director of Theatre Programming for the Ford's Theatre Society. Regional directing credits include Midwives for Round House, multiple productions for Circle Repertory Company (where he served as Associate Artistic Director), Stages Repertory Theatre and How I Learned to Drive for the Alley Theatre. He is a three-time recipient of the Austin Critics Circle Award for Best Director and a three-time winner of the Austin Circle of Theatres award for Outstanding Direction. Ramont has served on the teaching staff and as Director of Theatre at Rice University; he is currently a member of the adjunct faculty at American University.
Jay Winik, one of the nation's most renowned historians, is famed for his gifted and creative approaches to history. He is the author of The New York Times and #1 bestseller April 1865: The Month That Saved America (2001), which received wide international acclaim and became an award-wining documentary on the History Channel, as well as The New York Times best-selling The Great Upheaval. A regular contributor for history to The Wall Street Journal, Winik's writing also appears frequently in The New York Times and The Washington Post. A frequent television and radio guest, he regularly appears in major historical documentaries on the History Channel. He holds a B.A. and Ph.D. from Yale University and an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics. Winik is a Senior Scholar of History and Public Policy at the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy, and currently serves on the governing council of the National Endowment for the Humanities-a Presidential appointment-and as a trustee on a number of other non-profit boards having to do with history, preservation and education. He lives with his family in Chevy Chase, M.D.
