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The Last of Mrs. Lincoln (Broadway Theatre Archive)

The Last of Mrs. Lincoln (Broadway Theatre Archive)

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Product Info Reviews

Features:
  • Color


Description:

Julie Harris brings depth and grace to one of history's most maligned first ladies in The Last of Mrs. Lincoln. This production, part of the Broadway Theater Archive series, has been adapted for television, but not intrusively. Television allows for cuts and multiple viewing angles, but the feel of a play is very much here. The scenario follows Mary Todd Lincoln and the ill-fated Lincoln family from the year of the president's assassination through the end of Mary's life. The occasional bet-you-didn't-know historical anecdote is thrown in to the dialogue, but otherwise Mrs. Lincoln works well as a play and never feels like classroom fare. Harris reveals Lincoln's stubbornness and tunnel vision where her family is concerned but also lends her sympathy and humor. Though clearly a difficult woman to live with, she is hardly the vicious harridan who has come down through the historical rumor mill. Harris is bolstered by an excellent supporting cast, including Michael Christopher as the much put-upon Robert Lincoln, a young Robby Benson as Tad Lincoln, and Patrick Duffy as Mrs. Lincoln's favorite nephew, Lewis. --Ali Davis
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