Asylum: The Strange Case of Mary Lincoln

Asylum: The Strange Case of Mary Lincoln

Asylum: The Strange Case of Mary Lincoln

Book by June Bingham / Music and Lyrics by Carmel Owen

Asylum: The Strange Case of Mary Lincoln

Asylum: The Strange Case of Mary Lincoln

Book by June Bingham / Music and Lyrics by Carmel Owen

Overview

Everyone knows the story of how President Abraham Lincoln died. But what happened afterward? What became of his eccentric wife, First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, and their son Robert? Though not everyone knows it, the tale of their battle of wills is as thrilling as American history gets.

Writer June Bingham and composer Carmel Owen explore the dark psychological warfare and unique historical conditions that drove Robert Lincoln to have his mother wrongfully committed to an insane asylum. Imprisoned at a time when women had few rights, Mary must draw on all her strength and cleverness, as well as a few courageous friends and the memory of her husband, to fight the system and set herself free. A haunting character study of a strong-willed woman and a dangerous man, Asylum makes history come alive.

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Details

  • Genre: Biography, Docudrama/History
  • Time Period: American Civil War Era, 19th Century
  • Cast Attributes: Expandable Casting, Strong Role for Leading Woman (Star Vehicle)
  • Target Audience: Appropriate for All Audiences

Authors

June Bingham

A funny thing happened to June Bingham on her way from majoring in playwriting at Barnard in 1940 to having her musical, Asylum: The Strange Case of Mary Lincoln, produced off-Broadway in 2006. What appeared as a decades-long detour turned out in retrospect to have been valua ...

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Carmel Owen

Carmel Owen met June Bingham at an ASCAP workshop and began partnering on Asylum: The Strange Case of Mary Lincoln in the late 1990s, the beginning of a long journey and developmental process with York Theatre and the Women’s Project. At the time she was writing cabaret music ...

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