The Player King: What Does It Mean To Be An Actor?

The saying that goes "we don't get to choose our family" certainly applies in the case of Edwin Booth, older brother of John Wilkes Booth who forever associated the family name with one of America's greatest tragedies - the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865.  In connection with the current production of Battledrum, a play with music that explores the experience of 3 Civil War drummer boys, the Sierra Madre Playhouse is bringing Darin Dahms' The Player King for one performance only on Friday, March 28 at 8 p.m.

This piece written and performed by actor Dahms is part memory play, part soliloquy inspired by the lives of Edwin Booth, Junius Brutus Booth, and John Wilkes Booth. It takes place in the year following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Edwin Booth, perhaps the greatest Shakespearean actor in American History, has been forced to quit the stage because of his brother’s heinous crime. He is questioning whether he can return to the theatre after the tragedy that has befallen his family. Edwin’s personal investigation into his relationship to his art and a search for an answer to the question, “What does it mean to be an actor?”

For further information and to purchase tickets go to http://sierramadreplayhouse.org/playhouse/upcoming-events/