Lincoln in the Bardo (2025)

Synopsis
When President Abraham Lincoln’s son Willie succumbs to typhoid fever in 1862, he finds himself in Oak Hill Cemetery, unaware that he is dead. In fact, all the ghosts in the cemetery believe they are merely ill and waiting to be revived in the “sick yard.” One thing is certain: the sick yard does not treat children well who linger. Three ghosts — Bevins, a young gay man; Vollman, a young widower; and a Calvinist Reverend — must encourage Willie to transcend to the next dimension in a feat known among the ghosts as matterlightblooming.

Willie believes that his father will return for him, and indeed, he does — cradling the boy’s lifeless body and speaking to him. The citizens of the sick yard interpret this as the boy’s ability to connect with a loved one, something the ghosts have been unable to achieve with their own familial visitors. Bevins, Vollman, and the Reverend do everything they can to convince Willie not to remain in the sick yard, knowing they must encourage him to engage with his father once more.

When Willie sits beside his father in a chapel and hears his father express his grief, he realizes that he is dead. He then announces to all the ghosts that they, too, have died, setting off a widespread spectacle of matterlightblooming. As Lincoln leaves the cemetery on horseback, a deceased black servant, Havens, takes it upon himself to enter the President’s body, and together they lope away to change the course of history.

Cast
Principals:
   WILLIE, the ghost of Abraham Lincoln’s son, aged 11 - Boy Soprano/Alto
   LINCOLN, the President of the United States. - Baritone
   BEVINS, a queer ghost, gone by suicide, aged 17 - Tenor
   VOLLMAN, a gentlemanly ghost, bludgeoned by a beam, mid-40s - Bass-baritone
   REVEREND, a ghost who knows more than the others, 60s - Dramatic Soprano
   MISS ELISE TRAYNOR, a 14-year old ghost who has tarried too long - Countertenor
   THOMAS HAVENS, a 30 year-old black man, a freed slave - Tenor
   MRS. FRANCES HODGE, a 30-40 year old enslaved woman - Soprano

Other Roles:
   MRS. BARON, a woman recently run over by a carriage, 30s/40s - Mezzo-soprano
   MR. BARON, her husband, likewise run over by a carriage, 30s/40s - Baritone
   LITZIE, a young Black woman who finds her voice - Light Lyric Soprano

From the Chorus:
   Six ANGELS - 2 Sopranos, 4 Mezzo-sopranos
   Six GILBERTS - 3 Tenors, 3 Basses
   Five YOUNG BRIDES - 5 Sopranos
   Five MARY TODD LINCOLNS - 5 Mezzo-sopranos
   A group of SOLDIERS - 12-24 Tenors and Basses, evenly divided
   TENDRIL #1 - Soprano
   TENDRIL #2 - Mezzo-soprano
   TENDRIL #3 - Tenor
   LIEUTENANT STONE - Tenor
   GINGER CHAP FROM MAINE - Baritone or Tenor
   DOODLING PENNSYLVANIAN - Tenor