![An actor portraying Stephen Douglas shakes hands with the actor portraying Abraham Lincoln. The actress portraying Adele Douglas looks on.](https://fords.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/rivalry-banner-2880x1400-1.jpg)
The Rivalry
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.](https://fords.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/default-headshot-410x410-1.jpg)
Rick Foucheaux
Stephen Douglas
![Silhouette of a human head on black.](https://fords.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/default-headshot-410x410-1.jpg)
Robert Parsons
Abraham Lincoln
![Silhouette of a human head on black.](https://fords.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/default-headshot-410x410-1.jpg)
Sarah Zimmerman
Adele Douglas