The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts > Calendar of Programs

Mystic Chords of Memory: Abraham Lincoln and the Performing Arts

In Autumn 2008 and extending into the Spring of 2009, to celebrate the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln as well as the 150th anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, and against the backdrop of the election season, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts will present a comprehensive series of free public programs exploring Lincoln's love for the performing arts as well as those works which have been created out of inspiration for his life and work.

In the most difficult moments of his presidency, nothing provided Abraham Lincoln more respite than to immerse himself in a play at either Ford’s theater or Grover’s playhouse. It is estimated that Lincoln visited the theater more than a hundred times during his four years as president.

" It gave him an hour or two of freedom from care and worry," an assistant observed, and what was better, freedom from the interruption of office-seekers and politicians. The theater held all the elements of a perfect escape. Enthralled by the live drama, the costumes, the scenery and the stagecraft, Lincoln was transported into a realm far from the troubling events that filled the rest of his waking hours. At a performance of Henry IV, it was noted how thoroughly Lincoln enjoyed himself. He has forgotten the war. He has forgotten Congress. He is out of politics. He is living in Prince Hal’s time.

-- Doris Kearns Goodwin