By Sandi Masori
LA JOLLA, California — Abraham Lincoln is one of the handful of U.S. presidents whom almost any school-age child could name. Older kids will probably even know that he was the president who ended slavery, and he is widely thought of as one of our better presidents.
In 3 Summers of Lincoln, The La Jolla Playhouse is exploring a side of Lincoln (Ivan Hernandez) not usually talked about: his initial hesitancy to end slavery because of the political opposition to the idea, and his progression from a rule-abiding lawyer to a passionate proponent of freedom, consequences be damned. Much of this change comes through his friendship with Frederick Douglass (Quentin Earl Darrington) though they only met in person a handful of times.
Historians and history buffs will appreciate the way that Mary Todd Lincoln (Carmen Cusack) is humanized. Rather than the shrill hysterical woman that is usually portrayed, writer Joe DiPietro portrays her as a smart woman with a biting wit and a big heart. One of the most endearing scenes of the play is when Mary Todd is sitting with wounded soldiers in the hospital, helping them write letters home.
I also really liked the scene in the second act when Lincoln and Douglass meet for the first time. The burgeoning bromance is fun and energetic and has one of the only ear-wormy songs in the show, “The Meeting.”
For the most part the stage is kept free from props and sets, bringing out a table here and there to represent various places, an occasional drop-down lamp, and some well used projections. The background “set” appears to be wooden walls with cut out backwards letters all over it. It was interesting to look at but at times was distracting as the purpose of the random backwards letters was never clear.
The telegraph was new technology at the time, so they use an interesting device to give the rhythm of the telegraph- whenever a message is sent or received there’s a tap dancer tapping out the beat. In the first act the tap dancer is the incredibly talented one-legged dancer Evan Ruggiero, who lost his leg to cancer a while back. In the second act, after Black people are allowed to enlist in the Union Army (which was long after “immigrants and Jews” according to the play), the telegraph tap dancer is Alaman Diadhiou.
Standout actors are Darrington and Cusack who both light up and command the stage every time they enter.
The show utilizes a variety of musical styles, but none of the songs feel really memorable or transformative, especially when compared to Hamilton. While there’s some great moments and quotes that are played directly to the audience, it feels like they wanted to be like Hamilton and become a pop-culture phenomenon, but it’s missing the energy and passion that catapulted Hamilton to the ranks of legend. It’s a nice play, and I think it will go from the world premiere at the Playhouse all the way through to Broadway, but I don’t see it being a show that people would go back to see again and again.
3 Summers of Lincoln is at the La Jolla Playhouse through April 6.
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Sandi Masori is a restaurant and theatre reviewer for San Diego Jewish World.