Review: ONE DESTINY at Ford's Theatre

When it comes to the arts, there are a lot of things in DC that go either unnoticed or get lost in the shuffle. For almost twenty years now Ford’s Theatre has been presenting such a piece of theatre and it’s a very important one to be sure.

Richard Hellesen’s One Destiny brings to life the events of April 14, 1865, in the room where it happened (sorry wrong show) as remembered by two of the people that were in Ford’s Theatre the night of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.

The play begins with actor Harry Hawk (Jimmy Mavrikes) onstage reciting his lines from Our American Cousin which was the play at Ford’s Theatre the night Lincoln was shot. In the dark the ominous voice of theatre owner Harry Ford (Chris Stinson) is heard bellowing “MR. HAWK!” and once Ford appears he asks Hawk why he is still at the theatre as guards had blocked it off to anyone entering and public outrage was building. Some even threatened to burn Ford’s Theatre to the ground if it attempted to produce again. Through the course of the show, the two actors take on many characters to answer whether or not anything could have been done to stop John Wilkes Booth. Ford feels an overwhelming amount of guilt where Hawk feels that no one could have known what was going to happen on that Good Friday in 1865.

Before this review goes any further I need to make a full disclosure. I am a One Destiny junkie. Since I moved to DC in 2010 I think I have seen it close to 20 viewings. Sometimes more than once in a season. For many years the dynamic dup of Stephen F. Schmidt and Michael Bunce bought this show to life year after year for 1,450 plus performances. When it was announced that there was going to be a new cast a few years ago, this junkie who hates change wondered if One Destiny would be the same show after these two titans stopped performing in it. I am happy to report it most definitely is.

A few years ago, Jonathan Akinson and Joe Mallon assumed the roles of Hawk and Ford respectively. Because both of these actors are currently performing at Ford’s Theatre now in 1776 as is Jimmy Mavrikes, One Destiny now has two different casts so Atkinson, Mallon, and Mavrikes don’t collapse from exhaustion. Chris Stinson is also preparing to open in Ceasar and Cleopatra at Washington Stage Guild next week as well. As I have reviewed Atkinson and Mallon previously, this review will only be focused on Chris Stinson and Jimmy Mavrikes’ performances.

As Harry Ford and more Chris Stinson is just terrific. From his entrance onward, he is imposing but human as he tries to come to grips with what has just happened in his theatre.

The same can be said for Jimmy Mavrikes as Harry Hawk and others. There is a delicate balance between the dramatic and comedic moments that Mavrikes hits perfectly.

There is superb chemistry between these two guys as they make each of their characters totally different from one another. From a stagehand to a house manager to a women in a scene with Hawk, Each of the characters are very distinctly portrayed.

Kudos to Production Supervisor José Carrasquillo (Ford’s Theatre’s Director of Artistic Programming) for keeping Mark Ramont’s original two actor and a trunk full of props approach to the material.

A huge shout out needs to also go to longtime Production Stage Manager Taryn Friend for keeping the show in such great shape and calling her usual flawless performance. Not shocking at all. As Taryn is also Assistant Stage Manager for 1776, I would imagine there is a nice comfy Equity cot at Ford’s Theatre reserved for her somewhere in the building.

If you are planning a trip to DC, please make One Destiny at Ford’s Theatre a must do as part of your trip. Preshow you are able to visit the museum in the basement and after the performance be sure to go across the street to see the house where Lincoln passed away.

For those that live here, please remember that this show employs members of our theatre community that should be supported so please consider attending a performance.

For this One Destiny junkie, the show still holds true to its mission of educating as well as entertaining. That is exactly what good theatre can and should do.

Running Time: 35 minutes with no intermission.

One Destiny runs through May 15th, 2026, at Ford’s Theatre which is located at 511 Tenth Street, NW Washington, D.C.

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