This weekend, Hershey Felder wraps up his stay at the Pasadena Playhouse with his last performances of “Lincoln: An American Story” which ends this Saturday.

What a joy it has been. Felder presented three new works: “Monsieur Chopin,” “Maestro: The Art of Leonard Bernstein” and a world premiere of “Lincoln: An American Story.” I was able to catch the thoughtful “Maestro” in which Felder teaches us just what a great conductor does as he considers the angst of Bernstein who after “West Side Story” was too busy conducting to produce another signature melody.

His “Lincoln” is a step in a new direction. Where most of Felder’s presentations have been him as a historic figure and a piano as a stage prop, making him both star and music man, in “Lincoln” Felder depends upon a symphony orchestra to follow an original story about the doctor who attended to Lincoln on the day of the assassination.

In 2009, as the national celebrated the 200th anniversary of President Lincoln’s birth, Felder visited the Library of Congress and found an address called “Lincoln’s Last Hours” which was a speech given in New York in 1909–the 10oth anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth by Dr. Charles Augustus Leale. In Chicago, he visited the Chicago History Museum which has some Lincoln memorabilia (the keys to Ford’s Theatre, Lincoln’s hair from that tragic night and the blood-stained bed sheet). Felder had performed in Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C. (his George Gershwin piece).

From his perspective, there is no better place to premiere such a work: The Pasadena Playhouse is nearly the same size as Ford’s Theatre. The conceit is that spiritual essence of Dr. Leale returns, as all spirits do, to the place and the moment that has the most lasting impact on their lives. For Leale, it was that day at Ford’s Theatre where when someone cried for a doctor in the house, he became a part of history.

We meet Leale as he sits in a rocking chair, in uniform and he describes an ordinary life as a Union Army surgeon, his interest in both Lincoln and the theater. He recalls how the Booths were quite famous. We mostly think of John Wilkes Booth as one of the most famous American assassins, but in Lincoln’s time, the Booth family was an acting dynasty not unlike the Redgraves or the Barrymores.

The father, Junius Brutus Booth, was a delightfully scandalous man, having married in England in 1915 and then run off with another woman to the U.S. in 1821. In Maryland, Booth would pretend to be married to Mary Ann Holmes who would then provide him with ten children (six survived into adulthood) including the infamous John Wilkes Booth and Edwin Booth. Junius Brutus would eventually marry Mary Ann after his wife discovered the deception and divorced him when John Wilkes was in his teens.

The father was named after one of the assassins of Julius Caesar (Marcus Junius Brutus) and was the son of a lawyer. He’d become famous in England for his performance in the title role of Shakespeare’s “Richard III” in 1817. Booth had a heated rivalry with the more established actor Edmund Kean. By moving to America, Booth became known in his own right, but he also was an alcoholic, dying in 1852.

In 1864, John Wilkes (Marc Antony), Edwin (Brutus) and Junius Brutus, Jr. (Cassius) performed “Julius Caesar” as a benefit and this was the only time they performed together. John Wilkes was a handsome scene-chewing performer, something we often forget but Felder reminds the audience as his doctor recounts how people thought of the famous acting Booth family before the assassination.

It was Booth family fame and John Wilkes Booth’s own celebrity and familiarity with the theater that allowed him access to Lincoln’s private box. John Wilkes had performed before Lincoln previously.

Even without his piano, Felder brings music into various aspects of the play which is not quite a musical although Felder does sing, but more of a play in which music plays an important part. Traditional fold songs and poetry by Lincoln, Stephen Foster, John Howard Payne and Henry Bishop are included. If our history lessons give us John Wilkes from the assassination on, Felder gives a fuller realization of the times through music, theater and the viewpoint of one soldier, a doctor who failed to save Lincoln, but did the best he could.

Stephen Foster (4 July 1826-13 January 1864) was an important songwriter in the 19th century and often called the “father of American music” who wrote “Oh! Susanna,”
My Old Kentucky Home,” “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair” and “Beautiful Dreamer.”

American actor and dramatist John Howard Payne (9 June 1791-10 April 1852) wrote the lyrics “Home! Sweet Home!” while the melody was composed by Englishman Henry Bishop. The song was popular with both the Union and Confederate troops during the Civil War.

One never knows where fate will lead one. Felder’s love of history and his piano playing skills has brought audiences new appreciation of music and now, his “Lincoln” gives us a poignant personal view of history. There are times when the play feels too long and some musical passages that could be edited down to tighten up this piece, but that is always the danger of a piece written, composed and arranged by the person who stars. Felder is directed by Joel Zwick  who directed Felder’s other shows, but perhaps another set of eyes and ears would really help polish this show which in its current form is still good and emotionally moving.

There are three more performances: 6 April (Friday) 8 p.m.; 7 April (Saturday) at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.