An actor portraying Stephen Douglas shakes hands with the actor portraying Abraham Lincoln. The actress portraying Adele Douglas looks on.
Rick Foucheux as Stephen Douglas, Robert Parsons as Abraham Lincoln and Sarah Zimmerman as Adele Douglas. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

The Rivalry

date January 22, 2010 — February 14, 2010

Over the course of seven debates, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas tackled the hot topics of their day: state’s rights, slavery and the intent of the Constitution. The Rivalry captures the fiery rhetoric and wry humor of those debates, while adding the insights of Douglas’s wife, Adele. As Lincoln and Douglas race for the chance to be U.S. Senator, Adele reexamines her own concepts of freedom. Ford’s Theatre Director of Theatre Programming Mark Ramont directs Robert Parsons as Abraham Lincoln, Helen Hayes Award winner Rick Foucheux and Sarah Zimmerman (The Matchmaker) in the play The New York Times calls “evocative, inspiring, and stirring theatre.”

Artistic Team

Written by Norman Corwin
Director Mark Ramont
Scenic Design Robin Stapley
Costume Design Helen Huang
Lighting Design Matthew Richards
Original Music and Sound Design Matthew M. Nielson
Wig Design Anne Nesmith
Dialects Leigh Wilson Smiley
Production Stage Manager Brandon Prendergast
Assistant Stage Manager Bradley C. Cooper
New York Casting David Caparelliotis, C.S.A.

Cast

Silhouette of a human head on black.

Rick Foucheaux

Stephen Douglas

Silhouette of a human head on black.

Robert Parsons

Abraham Lincoln

Silhouette of a human head on black.

Sarah Zimmerman

Adele Douglas

From the Gallery

An actor portraying Stephen Douglas shakes hands with the actor portraying Abraham Lincoln. The actress portraying Adele Douglas looks on.

Rick Foucheux as Stephen Douglas, Robert Parsons as Abraham Lincoln and Sarah Zimmerman as Adele Douglas. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

A man and woman portraying Adele and Stephen Douglas stand shoulder to shoulder on the platform porch on the campaign trail.

Sarah Zimmerman as Adele Douglas and Rick Foucheux as Stephen Douglas in the Ford’s Theatre Society production of Norman Corwin’s The Rivalry, directed by Mark Ramont. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

An actor portraying Stephen Douglas stands center stage and points his arm at an actor portraying Abraham Lincoln, who stands. An actress portraying the wife of Douglas sits off to the right side.

Robert Parsons as Abraham Lincoln, Rick Foucheux as Stephen Douglas and Sarah Zimmerman as Adele Douglas in the Ford’s Theatre Society production of Norman Corwin’s The Rivalry, directed by Mark Ramont. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.