Good luck to playwright, lyricist and composer David Owen Michaels for his new musical Infamous – The Murder Plot That Changed America. Michaels, a Cleveland native who doubles as Performing Arts Director of St. Edward High School and spends weekends playing solo piano in Cleveland’s Little Italy district, has chosen what seems to be an unlikely subject for a musical — the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
The musical sings its way through the days leading up to that fateful night of April 14, 1865, when Abraham Lincoln and his wife went to see the play Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C. The plot intertwines the story of John Wilkes Booth and his associates who also planned to assassinate Vice President Andrew Johnson and other cabinet members. Intermixed is the plight of newly freed slaves, through a subplot involving Mrs. Lincoln’s seamstress and friend, Elizabeth Keckley, a formerly enslaved woman.
This past Friday and Saturday evenings, the musical was performed in a staged workshop format at the Lakewood Civic Center. Admittedly it is a work in progress, with cast members still relying on scripts for their lines. The stage lacked scenery and the music was provided by a single pianist, Harry Richardson, who has a long and distinguished resume in musical performance both locally and nationally. Although there were a few minor technical glitches, all in all the performance was first class.
Fortunately, I heard about the performance through my membership in the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable. The playwright/director contacted the Roundtable seeking reviewers who might spot any historical errors. As a student of presidential assassination, I was intrigued. In fact, I was so intrigued I prevailed upon a friend and retired American history professor to join me. We were both pleasantly surprised and found no major criticism as to historical accuracy. Although we both felt that Joshua Budd, the actor who portrayed Booth did a fine job, we agreed that he could have portrayed Booth as more vengeful and mean-spirited.
Infamous is engaging and well-paced. There were outstanding performances, especially by Sandra Montevideo who plays Mary Todd Lincoln. Her strong voice carried several of the scenes. Her interplay with Mario Perkins, who plays a not-quite-tall-enough Lincoln, does much to show the tension between the presidential couple during their time in the White House after the death of their son Willie. The President’s commitment to the war left Mary feeling abandoned and alone, and Montevideo artfully portrays Mary’s loneliness. My favorite song of the musical is a duet between Mary and the President, where she yearns to go back to their peaceful days in Springfield, Illinois.
The use of photographs and descriptions flashed on a screen, which served as a backdrop for the play, did much to keep those not familiar with the Civil War era and facts surrounding the assassination informed. Initial photos set the tone with graphic depictions of Civil War battle fields and enslaved people. With 20 cast members, some playing several roles, my initial concern was whether the audience would know who each actor was portraying. But thanks to a well-developed script and graphics, audience members had no problem following the events and recognizing the historical figures.
Michaels, who now lives in Fairview Park, hopes to take the performance to New York in the fall to lure Broadway producers to take the musical to the next level. Cleveland needs its own Lin-Manuel Miranda.
In my opinion, Infamous is a gem in the rough. American audiences have proved their interest in musical based on historical events with the success of Hamilton. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln is an equally alluring story.
The musical ends with Abraham Lincoln reciting the Gettysburg Address which spurred the nation to a new burst of freedom. In this time of growing tensions between political parties and races, the theme is timely — that government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from this earth.
Hopefully, there will be another performance so that a wider audience will be able to feel the magic and learn some history before Infamous moves to the big leagues. If not, “break a leg” David Owen Michaels. We’ll see you on Broadway.
One Response to “THEATER REVIEW: “Infamous – The Musical” by C. Ellen Connally”
Mel Maurer
Thanks Ellen. I want to find a way to see this one.