The year is 1876 and Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of the 16th president of the United States, has just been released from Bellvue Place — a private sanitarium where she was involuntarily committed after the deaths of her husband and three sons.
That’s where “Pass My Imperfections Lightly,” a one-woman show by Vaughn McBride, begins. On Saturday, Kathy Kennedy Llamas of Greenfield will bring Lincoln’s story to life in an intimate, 90-minute performance at St. James Episcopal Church. She said the production brings a new understanding of the former first lady, often remembered by history as troubled and unbalanced.
“It has a lot of humor in it, it has some sad moments, of course, but I think it gives a really rounded picture of her life,” Llamas said. “A lot of times, people think of Mary Todd Lincoln as being sort of this crazy woman who was erratic, but really there was a much deeper person inside, and I think the play does a really good job of putting all that together and giving the viewer a new perspective.”
Throughout the show, Lincoln — played by Llamas — reflects on her early years in Kentucky, her courtship with Abraham, politics during the White House years, the deaths of her children and the assassination of her husband, as well as her incarceration. One of the most polarizing first ladies of the 19th century, Lincoln was ambitious and politically astute, guiding her husband to become one of the country’s most important presidents.
Although Llamas is the only actor on stage, other characters come to life through the telling of her story.
Llamas began performing the show nearly a decade ago. She’s done vignettes of the play and performed it in full at the Conway Historical Society, but Saturday will be her first performance in a larger venue.
“Since then I’ve just fallen in love with Mary Todd Lincoln and with the period,” she said. “I already had a historical leaning, but when this show came about, it fueled that interest that much more.”
Although Lincoln was first lady of the United States more than 150 years ago, Llamas said the prevalent themes of inequality and political turmoil in her story are still relevant today. Regardless of the audience’s political stance, she said the show will give viewers an interesting insight into the early Republican era.
Jennifer Coliskey, board member of Arena Civic Theater and producer of the show, said from her perspective, an important part of the show is the way women were perceived and expected to behave at the time.
“That was one of the reasons, I think, that people felt she was crazy — because she was outspoken, because she was opinionated and she didn’t mind if anybody knew that,” Coliskey said.
“She was in a difficult position at a difficult time in history,” Llamas added. “I think in so many ways she was well ahead of herself. I think if she was born in the ’60s, she would have been a radical organizer. She could see what needed to be done and just did it — and maybe she didn’t always think of the consequences.”
The show, she said, is also a great love story. Llamas said one of her favorite scenes is when Lincoln and her husband are first courting, and they go to a dance. Lincoln describes how because of their height difference — Abraham was 6 feet 4 inches and Mary was 5 feet 2 inches — it looked like her husband was dancing alone among a sea of revelers.
“It shows there’s a playfulness, because I think a lot of times that’s forgotten in Abraham and Mary’s story, even though they both suffered from melancholia,” she said.
In another emotional scene, Lincoln is visited by her deceased family. She lost her mother at the age of 6, as well as three sons — one of whom died in the White House.
“Those are the two extremes, but I love both of them equally in different ways,” Llamas said. “The thing that I think sort of emotionally draws me to Mary Todd Lincoln is that there’s a vulnerability underneath it all, a kind of cushiness that, to me, is just so endearing … It makes me cry even now when I think about it because everything to her was such a loss in the extreme.”
Llamas said the intimate space in St. James Episcopal Church makes members of the audience feel like they’re close friends with Lincoln.
“It’s a wonderful room, it’s got a fireplace in there and it’s going to look like she’s in her living room getting ready to leave (for Europe),” Llamas said. “It’s just warm and perfect.”
Two performances of “Pass My Imperfections Lightly” will be held on Saturday at 1 and 6 p.m. at St. James Episcopal Church, 8 Church St. in Greenfield. Admission is $12 at the door, $10 for groups of 10 or more. The show will include a 15-minute intermission, during which light refreshments will be sold — including Mary Todd Lincoln’s cake, said to be the very recipe she used to woo Abraham.
A talk-back session with Llamas will follow each performance.