John Sutton’s Will

Terry Franklin is an estate and trust lawyer who in his spare time is chronicling the story of his antebellum ancestors, John and Lucy Sutton, and the discovery of the actual document that emancipated his fourth-great-grandmother and freed her from slavery. Terry discusses his journey and the story of his family, and talks about the dangers of destructive fires; contested wills; the luck of finding thoughtful paralegals; family connections to the Tuskegee Airmen; the thrill of the (paper) chase; how fact met fiction; a fateful fascination with red sealing wax; encouraging words from Amelia Boynton Robinson; the power of prayers for the ancestors; how Lucy and her children were able “to enjoy their full and perfect freedom;” and emerging understanding of what history actually is. (Length 24:30) (Recorded Friday, January 24th 2020, the 173rd anniversary of the day John Sutton’s will was written.)

Playing Historical Characters

Three members of the fantastic ensemble gathered together for the Goodman Theatre production of Theresa Rebeck’s Bernhardt/Hamlet – William Dick, Gregory Linington, and Larry Yando – gather to discuss the particular obligations that must be considered when playing real historical figures. Featuring extensive dramaturgical research, actual archival video, the wild imaginative leaps required to be able to portray a 19th-century critic as if he were human, tributes (or ripoffs?) from Trader Joe’s, the invention of merch, arguments about Hamlet’s age, similar pressures playing the famous historical figure Ebenzeer Scrooge, the ultimate dedication to the playwright’s text, and a play ostensibly about a diva that’s actually about an ensemble. (Length 22:43) (Pictured (l to r): William Dick, Larry Yando, and Gregory Linington in the Goodman Theatre production of Theresa Rebeck’s Bernhardt/Hamlet, directed by Donna Feore. Photos by Liz Lauren.)