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The theater argues that allowing the assassination to be re-enacted there would detract from the gravity and significance of Abraham Lincoln’s death.
By Rebecca J. Ritzel
Report from Washington
Since Ford’s Theatre reopened as a theatre in 1968, no one has staged a dramatic re-enactment of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination there on April 14, 1865.
“Manhunt,” the Apple TV series, said it had recently applied for permission and was denied. Robert Redford had an idea about it at one point, but it dissuaded him, a theater official said.
Theatre explains the reasoning.
In an article titled “Why the Ford Theatre Doesn’t Feature Reenactments of Murders,” historian David McKenzie, who worked in the theater for years, wrote in 2021:
“For us at Ford, where the tragedy actually occurred, a re-enactment of Lincoln’s assassination would distract attention from the gravity of the event and have an effect on our society as a whole,” adding that “instead, it would draw attention to the gruesome highlights of a night. It can be cheesy, downplaying the occasion. It would also give John Wilkes Booth the prominence he sought in his quest to overthrow the U. S. government and maintain a white governing formula. racial superiority. “
Paul Tetreault, a veteran director of the Washington Theatre, said that despite the resolute tone of McKenzie’s message, the justification for opposing such a recreation is not a formal policy but a matter of “common sense. “
“The reality,” he says, “is that there is nothing written that prohibits reenactments. It’s just that it’s just respectful. You know, at Ford we have a legal responsibility. We have a legal responsibility to respect the truth, we have a legal responsibility, you know, to be respectful and reverent. This is a memorial site. It is a National Historic Site.
Tetreault said Redford considered it a theater in his 2010 film “The Conspirator” and even scoured the area to dial in camera angles.
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