John Wilkes Booth takes center stage in ‘Mad Men' creator's new play
(NewsNation) — 'Mad Men' creator Matthew Weiner's directorial play debut puts one of America's most notorious killers in the spotlight.
'John Wilkes Booth: One Night Only,' brought to life with the help of producer Ken-Matt Martin, centers on the man who shot and killed President Abraham Lincoln.
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'We learn a lot from studying our villains,' Weiner told NewsNation. 'And the thing that really got to me is how much we live in the shadow of his act.'
Examining infamous figures 'tells us more about who we are as a country than it does just looking at our heroes,' Martin said.
Booth, a Baltimore native, was 26 at the time of Lincoln's assassination.
When asked about the parallels between Booth and Luigi Mangione — who is accused of killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson — Martin and Weiner emphasized the importance of interrogating violence's place in American history.
Mangione is also from Maryland and was 26 years old when Thompson was killed.
'The thing that I think is at the core of why it's important for us to be producing and looking at, it's not to glorify, but it's actually to better understand and contextualize why people do the things that they do,' Martin said.
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Weiner echoed that sentiment.
'America is proud of its anti-authority nature,' he said.' But the reality is most of the changes that have happened in this country eventually come into the hands of violence. It is part of, unfortunately, the way this country was born, and it's part of our mythology.'
'This is a challenging thought to open your mind to,' Weiner continued. 'The idea that there is something particular to America that produces people like this, and that we live in their destruction, and that we need to understand them so that we can move beyond this.'
The play will run from May 15 to June 15 at Baltimore Center Stage. It is recommended for audiences 14 and older.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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In Britain, Sir Keir Starmer's 'island of strangers' speech might have done a certain amount to reposition Labour as being tough on immigration, but it's still the case that more voters (35 per cent according to a YouGov poll) see the PM as being pro-immigration than against it. Meanwhile, critics say it was all rhetoric. While, 'I welcome what he said,' says Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, 'there is very little of substance there, which makes me wonder whether the government actually means it or whether in fact they're trying to persuade people.' Those on the left say Sánchez's approach to migration has had a positive economic impact. Spain's economy grew by 3.2 per cent last year. 'The more people you've got actually functioning, working within the system, of course it means the economy will grow,' says Mehmet. 'But what surveys, research, studies have consistently shown in Britain is that overall migration has been a net fiscal cost going right back to the days before Tony Blair. 'Time and again there have been studies that show that ultimately the low-wage, low-skill migration that most countries in Europe have seen is a cost to the taxpayer. I don't see that it's any different in Spain to our experience here.' Vila says it feels as though immigration has 'become worse and worse'. 'In terms of GDP it's true [Spain] has one of the top growing economies in the EU. But also Spain has added around 800,000 people in the last couple of years. [...] Spain is a good example of an economy that is growing – yes, [it's] adding to the population. [But] without any productivity powers.' Five miles from Almaraz, in the village of Belvís de Monroy, Fernando Sánchez contemplates what life in the area will be like after the plant closes down. He is the mayor of the village and was a radiation protection technician at the plant for 16 years. 'This village, Almaraz and others are going to die if the plant is closed,' he says. The Spanish government is 'like a driver on the wrong side of the motorway who thinks everyone else is mad and going in the wrong direction,' says Sánchez, 42. The problem being, of course, that the driver he speaks of happens to be in power. When they decide to hurtle in the wrong direction, they force everyone to go along with them, with potentially catastrophic consequences. 'Closing nuclear plants in the current environment would be one of the biggest mistakes in the history of Spain,' he says. His advice to the UK government? 'Look at what happened with the blackout.' Sánchez is in favour of renewable energy, but not in isolation. 'Extremadura has sun, wind, hydro and nuclear energy. Any European country would love to have what we have in a single region, and we can export it as we have way more than we need.' It is now clear there is 'not enough storage capacity to run the grid on renewables,' he says. 'When a plan fails, you need to make a new one.' It's advice that those in Madrid and Westminster would do well to heed. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
