My overall impression
Saw this play last year and loved it. Playwright-performer Darin Dahms takes us back to the mid-19th century, where we meet the three significant members of the historic Booth family. There is Junius Brutus, the patriarch, a man possessed by demons, with an equal passion for the soliloquies of Shakespeare and the numbing magic of liquor. The sane member of this trio, Edwin, is a gentle man forced into acting, and struggling for years, until he is hailed as the greatest American actor of his century. Then there is the younger brother, hothead playboy, John Wilkes, boasting he will be the most famous actor of all time, and succeeding with the act that changed history: the assassination of Lincoln. Dahms’ boldly weaves in Shakespeare’s words, and most famous soliloquies, to illustrate the dramatic action and spiritual changes throughout. Brilliantly written and performed, this is a must-see for lovers of Shakespeare and students of history.
