Abe Lincoln in Illinois 

(play)
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Abe Lincoln in Illinois

Raymond Massey in

Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1938)

Written by Robert E. Sherwood

 Abraham Lincoln
Characters
 Ann Rutledge
 Mary Todd

Date premiered October 15, 1938

Place premiered Plymouth Theatre, New York City

Original language English

Genre Historical drama

Setting Illinois

Abe Lincoln in Illinois is a play written by the American playwright Robert E.

Sherwood in 1938. The play, in three acts, covers the life of President Abraham
Lincoln from his childhood through his final speech in Illinois before he left
for Washington. The play also covers his romance with Mary Todd and his debates
with Stephen A. Douglas, and uses Lincoln's own words in some scenes. Sherwood
received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1939 for his work.

Contents
  1Productions
 2Overview and synopsis
o 2.1Act I
o 2.2Act II
o 2.3Act III
 3Adaptations
 4Critical response
 5Awards and nominations
 6References
 7External links

Productions[edit]
The play premiered on Broadway on October 15, 1938, at the Plymouth Theatre and
closed in December 1939 after 472 performances. Directed by Elmer Rice, it
starred Raymond Massey as Lincoln, Muriel Kirkland (Mary Todd), Adele
Longmire (Ann Rutledge), and Albert Phillips (Stephen A. Douglas). [1] It subsequently
transferred to the Grand Opera House in Chicago where it ran for 12 weeks from
January 8 through March 30, 1940.[2] Massey's role in the play came about as the
result of a promise he had made to Sherwood six years previously to "be there when
he needed me".[3] It was the first production of the newly established Playwrights'
Company.[4]
The play has twice been revived on stage. In 1963 Hal Holbrook starred as Lincoln in
an off-Broadway revival at the Phoenix Theatre.[4] A second revival took place in 1993
at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, with Sam Waterston as Lincoln, and direction
by Gerald Gutierrez. The cast included Marissa Chibas (Ann Rutledge), David
Huddleston (Judge Bowling Green), Robert Joy (Joshua Speed), Lizbeth
MacKay (Mary Todd) and Brian Reddy (Stephen A. Douglas). [5] The revival ran from
November 29, 1993, to January 2, 1994. [6]

Overview and synopsis[edit]

The play takes place in and around New Salem, Illinois, in the 1830s, then
in Springfield, Illinois, in the 1840s, and in Act III in Springfield in 1858 to 1861. It is
based principally on the 1926 biography Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years by Carl
Sandburg, which covers Lincoln's life up to his inauguration as President. The play
depicts Lincoln's evolution from unambitious backwoodsman to a champion of
freedom, and relies on the au