Ford's Theater Announces Dates For Radio Play NECESSARY SACRIFICES

Ford's Theatre has announced an audio drama adaptation of Richard Hellesen's Necessary Sacrifices, featuring acclaimed Washington actors Craig Wallace as Frederick Douglass and Paul Morella as Abraham Lincoln. Psalmayene 24 makes his Ford's directorial debut.

The radio play will be made available to Ford's Theatre Members on April 6 and to the public on April 12-May 30 via the Ford's Theatre website, www.fords.org. WPFW 89.3FM, Pacifica radio in the nation's capital, will air the play April 15 at 8:00 p.m. and April 21 at 3:00 p.m. WPFW also will make the broadcast available to other Pacifica radio stations nationwide during April and May 2021.

In connection with the WPFW broadcast, the station will host related on-air discussions on April 15 and 17, including members of the Necessary Sacrifices production team. The April 15 discussion centers on the Movement for Black Lives within the context of the work of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. The discussion on April 17 examines women of the abolitionist movement-Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman-in relationship to the work of Douglass and Lincoln. Full speaker lineup to be announced by WPFW.

Commissioned by Ford's Theatre, Richard Hellesen's Necessary Sacrifices explores the two documented encounters between Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln during a period of national crisis. During the summers of 1863 and 1864, Douglass challenges Lincoln to use his power as president to bring truth to America's founding ideal that "all men are created equal."

Necessary Sacrifices includes Original Music, Sound Design and Audio Production by John Gromada.

"Although we are unable to be back in the theatre this spring, we are thrilled to provide the audio drama of Necessary Sacrifices to a national audience," said Ford's Theatre Director Paul R. Tetreault. "Frederick Douglass respected Abraham Lincoln but was highly critical of Lincoln's slowness on taking key actions toward equality and emancipation. Lincoln, though morally opposed to slavery, was unsure how to legally end it and what to do once it was ended. The play shows how these two men came together and debated, disagreed and ultimately found common ground. As our nation confronts deep political divisions, and we rise to answer calls for equity and justice for Black Americans, I hope this play inspires audiences to listen as Lincoln did and to agitate for change like Douglass."

"Audio is the perfect medium for the story of two remarkable leaders whose significant use of language and discourse shaped America at a tumultuous time. This play deals with hefty themes of war, slavery, politics, justice, and freedom-but undergirding these themes is the relationship between two men who are confronted with their perceptions of who the other man is and the truth of who they really are. It is about their friendship, and the transformational leadership that laid the groundwork to move America toward a new birth of freedom," said director Psalmayene 24.

Playwright Richard Hellesen's previous works for Ford's Theatre include Freedom's Song: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, One Destiny, Investigation: Detective McDevitt and The Road from Appomattox, four gripping and insightful explorations of critical moments in Civil War history.

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

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