Ford’s ‘The Rivalry’ is a political play for a political city

If the level of political debate on contemporary radio and TV is not elevated enough for you, head to Ford’s Theatre, where the latest production, “The Rivalry,” recreates some of the most memorable political rhetoric ever delivered in America. The story of two practiced politicians vying for the U.S. Senate seat from Illinois, Norman Corwin’s play begins in 1858, after Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas had debated in Springfield and Chicago, and were about to meet in seven more confrontations.

The political bases of the debates were slavery and states’ rights. Yet to Lincoln, the central issue was not political but moral, raising much larger questions of liberty, the right of one group to trespass on the rights of others, despotism, the validity of the Declaration of Independence and of the Constitution.

Stephen Douglas is portrayed well by Rick Foucheux as a smooth orator with a bull-dog approach who is not above misrepresenting his opponent when it’s in his self-interest. Robert Parsons deftly embodies Lincoln as the polar opposite of Douglas. He captures the famous “honest Abe” down-home sense of humor, and Lincoln’s habit of illustrating his arguments with funny stories. Parsons neatly outlines Lincoln’s deeper dimensions, too: his eloquence and his impassioned seriousness, when he insisted that “all men are created equal” meant exactly what it said.

The narrator of this play is Douglas’ wife, Adele, portrayed by Sarah Zimmerman as a calm, self-assured woman. It is she who reveals the human side of Douglas and uncovers much of Lincoln’s personality, as she befriends him during the debates. And it is Adele who puts the American landscape into perspective long after 1858.

Although it isn’t an in-depth analysis of either Lincoln or Douglas, “The Rivalry” offers a tantalizing glimpse into how our nation’s history was affected by political discourse a century and a half ago.

Most important, when he wrote the play in 1958, Corwin used the actual transcripts of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, so “The Rivalry” contains some of Lincoln’s most moving speeches. Director Mark Ramont does a fine job of making that brilliant oratory as stirring in 2010 as it was in 1858.