Father Abraham at The Block Off Biltmore
The Sublime Theater & Press on September 7 launched a three-week project titled Father Abraham that’s offering free readings of three new plays about President Abraham Lincoln on consecutive Saturday evenings at The Block Off Biltmore. AshevilleStages.com attended the first reading not to offer a full critique — inappropriate for works in progress — but to let our readers know about this remarkable series.
All the plays are by David Brendan Hopes, a local playwright. The first presented was The Loves of Mr. Lincoln, and it will be followed on September 14 by Earthly Power and then, on September 21, The Testament of Major Rathbone. All the readings are free, but seating is very limited; a small donation can reserve a chair.
Each play tells Lincoln’s life story, or a portion of it, with a different focus. They are overlapping rather than chronological: a triptych of portraits that together will offer the 16th president in three vivid dimensions.
The cast sits on stage with their copies of the script on music stands, although they have clearly practiced so thoroughly that they refer only sparingly to their pages (or computer tablets). They are accompanied (at least for the first performance) by local musicians, and stage directions are read aloud to set the scene.
The Love of Mr. Lincoln was thoroughly engaging, the cast admirable, the music adding a great deal to the experience. A Lincoln scholar might quibble with some of Hopes’ interpretations — and factual errors (Lincoln did not drink alcohol, and the term “White House” had not yet been coined) — but he has a solid handle on his vision of Lincoln, Mary Todd Lincoln, General Grant, and other historical figures. Even presented with such minimal staging, the drama was captivating, the performances fully realized.
What Hopes and Sublime plan for the future of this rather epic undertaking will depend in part on the experience of these three weeks of readings, and audience responses thereto. But Asheville theatergoers who want to see a fascinating work at its earliest stages should take advantage of the remaining two opportunities. Each play is free-standing, so audiences are welcome to sample one or both of those remaining whether or not they caught the first show.
Remaining performances are September 14 and 21. Seats may be reserved by donating $5 or more. To learn more, visit thesublimetheater.org.
