A staged reading of LeAnne Howe's new play-in-verse, Savage Conversations, directed by UW Drama MFA directing student Andrew Coopman.
THE 1862 MASS EXECUTION OF THIRTY-EIGHT DAKOTA NIGHTLY HAUNTS MARY TODD LINCOLN, INSTITUTIONALIZED AND ALONE WITH HER GHOSTS.
May 1875: Mary Todd Lincoln is addicted to opiates and tried in a Chicago court on charges of insanity. Entered into evidence is Ms. Lincoln’s claim that every night a Savage Indian enters her bedroom and slashes her face and scalp. She is swiftly committed to Bellevue Place Sanitarium. Her hauntings may be a reminder that in 1862, President Lincoln ordered the hanging of thirty-eight Dakotas in the largest mass execution in United States history. No one has ever linked the two events—until now. Savage Conversations is a daring account of a former first lady and the ghosts that tormented her for the contradictions and crimes on which this nation is founded.
CAST
MARY TODD LINCOLN | Maureen Miko |
SAVAGE INDIAN | Steven Davis |
THE ROPE | Antonio Mitchell |
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
This event is sponsored by the departments of American Indian Studies and English.