Robert Parsons as Abraham Lincoln. Photo by Matt Petit.
Just in time for the 2012 election campaign, L.A. Theatre Works returns to the Miami University Performing Arts Series with its acclaimed radio-theater production of The Rivalry, at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 7th at Hall Auditorium, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.
Shannon Cochran directs Robert Parsons and Josh Clark as Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, heated rivals for the U.S. Senate seat in Illinois. Rebecca Mozo co-stars as Adele, the young wife of Senator Douglas through whose lens we witness the proceedings.
The Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 tackled the day’s most passionate issue – slavery. Taken directly from the transcripts, The Rivalry recreates the face off between Abraham Lincoln, rising Illinois legislator and abolitionist candidate of the newly formed Republican party, and Senator Stephen A. Douglas, the Democratic incumbent and champion of states’ rights. The series of seven debates that took place in seven Congressional districts were conducted in a fever of partisanship as the nation listened. Brass bands played, and the press vilified or glorified theopponents, depending on which side they took.
“What is so heartbreakingly different from today’s political scene is how principled they both were, putting the nation before their own hopes,” notes L.A. Theatre Works Producing Artistic Director Susan Loewenberg.
Although Douglas was re-elected Senator from Illinois, the debates brought Lincoln into the national consciousness and helped send him on to the presidency.
For three decades, L.A. Theatre Works has been the leading radio theater company in the UnitedStates, committed to using innovative technologies to preserve and promote significant works of dramatic literature and bringing live theater into the homes of millions. The company’s public radio series, featuring stage plays performed by America’s top actors augmented by interviews with the artists and others, can be heard in over 100 markets nationwide and can also be streamed on demand at http://www.latw.org. Over 9,000 libraries carry LATW’s plays on audio, and recordings and teaching materials are used by over 2,000 middle and high schools across the country.
L.A. Theatre Works’ The Rivalry is presented by the Miami University Performing Arts Series and sponsored by Kona Bistro and the Western College Alumnae Association, with media partners 88.5 WMUB and 91.7 WVXU. Tickets are $20 for adults, $19 for senior citizens, and $9 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, order online at http://www.muohio.edu/PerformingArtsSeries or call the Miami Box Office at (513) 529-3200.
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 