Take a closer look at the creative process of Jefferson’s Garden, as seen in our recent cast and fan Instagram posts.

On December 19, 2017, visitors to the Ford’s campus heard from people who were witnesses to the Lincoln assassination events of 1865. Visitors found four iPads on music stands around the campus featuring audio of our staff members reading first-person accounts from five people from the time. Read about our second round of ideas testing for our latest prototyping project.

How auspicious that Ford’s is hosting the American Premiere of Jefferson’s Garden, a major new play by British-American playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker. Hailed as an “exhilarating,” epic work about America’s Revolutionary War and slavery when it premiered on London’s West End in 2015, Jefferson’s Garden poses stakes even more potent and alive here in Washington, D.C., in 2018.

Meet the fictitious and historically based characters found in Timberlake Wertenbaker’s play “Jefferson’s Garden.” The Ford’s Theatre production plays to February 8, 2018.

At Ford’s Theatre, we often face an interesting dilemma when presenting plays and musicals that have ties to history. Because Ford’s is inextricably tied to our national history with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865, many in expect any aspect of American history portrayed on our stage to be 100 percent truthful to the facts. Patrick Pearson discusses.

Jefferson's Garden Director Nataki Garrett discusses Thomas Jefferson's legacy and how Timberlake Wertenbaker's play shines new light on the beginnings of America.

Ford's Theatre has made it a priority to increase access to the historic site. As part of an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Museums Empowered grant, we hosted a two-day workshop with leaders in the field of museum accessibility to evaluate our site needs and brainstorm solutions. Read about what we learned and how it helped us develop a roadmap of solutions to implement in the future. 

Since 2000, many visitors to Ford’s Theatre have stepped back in time with National Park Service volunteer Liz Hogan, who portrays First Lady Mary Lincoln and, sometimes, Mary Lincoln’s confidante Elizabeth Dixon. Hogan seeks to counter some of the many pervasive myths about Lincoln’s First Lady. Learn about how Hogan  prepared for this historical role and how visitors react.

On a semi-cold Tuesday, Ford’s Theatre staff and evaluator Kate Haley Goldman spent the day on the street between the Petersen House and Ford’s Theatre, asking visitors for their opinions of two on-site prototypes that might enhance the visitor’s understanding of the Lincoln assassination and its aftermath. Read on to see what we learned from that testing.

Have you ever wondered how Ford’s Theatre keeps the costumes and wigs of A Christmas Carol looking fresh year after year? See photos and hear from the team that keeps the magic happening time after time!