Ford’s Theatre packs in stars, and Obamas, for reopening

Doors reopened: Michelle Obama greets audience members at Ford's Theatre, which celebrated Abraham Lincoln's bicentennial.

Doors reopened: Michelle Obama greets audience members at Ford’s Theatre, which celebrated Abraham Lincoln’s bicentennial.

WASHINGTON — Presidential present and past intersected again Wednesday night when President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama joined stars in honoring one of his inspirations: Abraham Lincoln.

The Ford’s Theatre Society held a star-studded reopening to celebrate the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth and award film greats George Lucas and Sidney Poitier with Lincoln Medals. The invitation-only ceremony was held at Ford’s Theatre, where Lincoln was assassinated in 1865.

CBS News anchor Katie Couric and actors Kelsey Grammer, James Earl Jones, Ben Vereen, Jeffrey Wright and Audra McDonald gave a presentation of Birth and Rebirth, a tribute to Lincoln. David Selby (Falcon Crest’s Richard Channing) portrayed Lincoln. Jessye Norman performed the Battle Hymn of the Republic with McDonald and violinist Joshua Bell. Richard Thomas (The Waltons‘ John Boy) was the evening’s host.

“There’s a lot of history in this building,” said director Lucas, 64. Lincoln “was a great man, and he served our country in a very difficult time.” As for Obama’s first weeks, “it’s nice that he started off on the right foot. Things are actually happening.”

Poitier, 81, was still moved by the election of a black president. “I never thought I would live long enough (to see one), which is an example of how far we’ve come,” the Oscar-winning Lilies of the Field actor said.

Grammer, a Republican, expressed support for Obama. “I support all presidents,” he said. “They have a very difficult job.” And, he said, “it brings a tear to my eye every time I see him on camera.” As for Lincoln, “he gave his life so that a president like Obama could come along.”

Jones, the Great White Hope star and voice of Darth Vader, talked about missing Obama’s inauguration, but added, “I figured I’d meet up with him somewhere along the way.”

Jones was right. At the end of the tribute, Obama spoke to the audience about Lincoln. “He had an unyielding belief that at heart we are one nation and one people. … That is what we remain.”

Ford’s Theatre packs in stars, and Obamas, for reopening

Related posts:

  1. Obama Says Lincoln’s Legacy Lives on as Ford’s Theatre Reopens Culture Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama paid tribute...
  2. Lincoln in Black and White A Harvard scholar takes a look at the Great Emancipator...
  3. Obamas Attend Star-Studded Concert on Mall The country’s top musical stars joined masses of ordinary...
  4. Barack Obama: In search of identity Email Picture Daniel Acker / Bloomberg News Democratic president-elect...
  5. Beyond Words: Two Heirs to Two Great Americans NEWSWEEK asked descendants of key figures in civil rights history...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Leave a Reply

Calendar
February 2009
M T W T F S S
« Jan   Mar »
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
232425262728  
Categories
My Communities
  • July 31
    “…More and more individuals, owing to their bloodless indolence, will aspire to be nothing at all — in order to become the public, that abstract whole formed in the most ludicrous way, by all participants becoming a third party (an onlooker). This indolent mass which understands nothing and does nothing itself, this gallery, is on [...] […]
  • July 30
    “If it is to be possible that a man can will only one thing then he must will the Good…To will only one thing: but will this not inevitably become a longdrawn-out talk? If one should consider this matter properly must he not first consider, one by one, each goal in life that a man [...] […]
  • July 29
    “So they sat in their quiet sorrow: they did not harden themselves against the consolation of the world; they were humble enough to acknowledge that life is a dark saying, and as in their thought they were swift to listen to see if there might be an explanatory word, so were they also slow to [...] […]
  • July 28
    “The object of faith is the reality of the teacher, that the teacher really exists. The answer of faith is therefore unconditionally yes or no. For the answer of faith is not concerned as to whether a doctrine is true or not, nor with respect to a teacher, whether his teaching is true or not; [...] […]
  • July 27
    “Now in case a man were able to maintain himself upon the pinnacle of the instant choice, in case he could cease to be a man, in case he were in his inmost nature only an airy thought, in case personality meant nothing more than to be a kobold, which takes part indeed in the [...] […]
  • July 26
    “Adversity doesn’t just knit people together but elicits also that beautiful inner community, as the frost forms patterns on the windowpane which the warmth of the sun then erases.” ——————————————————– ~Source: The Journals (1835) Author: Søren Kierkegaard Filed under: Blooms Tagged: The Journals […]
  • July 25
    “If a man had a little button sewn on the inner pocket of his coat ‘on principle’ his otherwise unimportant and quite serviceable action would become charged with importance–it is not improbable that it would result in the formation of a society. ‘On principle’ a man may interest himself in the founding of a brothel [...] […]
  • July 24
    “And now consider Him, who is eternally unchangeable — and this human heart! O this human heart, what is not hidden in your secret recesses, unknown to others — and that is the least of it — but sometimes almost unknown to the individual himself! When a man has lived a few years it is [...] […]
Related Posts

Related posts:

  1. Obama Says Lincoln’s Legacy Lives on as Ford’s Theatre Reopens Culture Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama paid tribute...
  2. Lincoln in Black and White A Harvard scholar takes a look at the Great Emancipator...
  3. Obamas Attend Star-Studded Concert on Mall The country’s top musical stars joined masses of ordinary...
  4. Barack Obama: In search of identity Email Picture Daniel Acker / Bloomberg News Democratic president-elect...
  5. Beyond Words: Two Heirs to Two Great Americans NEWSWEEK asked descendants of key figures in civil rights history...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

iLike
Connections
Contributions
View my FriendFeed
Connect with me!
Seeing the World!
Blog Network