Keala Settle to play Mary Lincoln in Mrs President at Charing Cross theatre

Keala Settle will play former first lady Mary Lincoln in Mrs President, a sombre stage production that begins a six-week run at London’s Charing Cross theatre this month.

The 75-minute play imagines Lincoln on an anguished journey of self-discovery in the studio of Mathew Brady and is written by John Ransom Phillips with Olivier-nominated director Bronagh Lagan. Settle’s portrayal, the article says, contrasts with the darkly comic Broadway show Oh Mary!, which arrives in the West End at the same time, and she hopes audiences “will see both myself and Mary in a brand new light”.

Settle, known globally for The Greatest Showman and the song This Is Me, told the paper the role resonated after a decade-long personal journey. After the film’s release she suffered a mini-stroke and had 10-hour double bypass brain surgery a week before the Oscars and was later diagnosed with Moyamoya disease; she said she once “ran from it. Ran, drank, boozed, pills, all of it.” She said moving from musicals to straight drama forces her to work “10 zillion times as hard” and that she is now seeking projects that “internally make my bum twitch but I know I need.”

Mrs President runs at the Charing Cross theatre to 8 March. The production is presented, the article notes, as a chance for both Settle and audiences to reconsider the public image of Mary Lincoln and, by extension, Settle’s own public persona.

Key Topics

Culture, Keala Settle, Mary Lincoln, Mrs President, Charing Cross Theatre, Mathew Brady