Necessary Sacrifices at Ford's Theatre

David Selby returns to Ford's Theatre in January 2012 to play Abraham Lincoln in Necessary Sacrifices, a newly commissioned play by Richard Hellesen directed by Jennifer Nelson. From Ford's Theatre:

In his fourth commission for Ford’s Theatre, playwright Richard Hellesen explores the two documented encounters between Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln during a period of national crisis. As Lincoln searches for a way to end slavery in the summers of 1863 and 1864, Douglass’s rhetoric and conviction challenges the president to envision a post-emancipation world. Together, the men imagine not only a unified nation but a society that brings truth to the Declaration of Independence assertion that “all men are created equal.”

 

Hellesen’s previous works for Ford’s Theatre include One Destiny, Investigation: Detective McDevitt and The Road from Appomattox, three gripping and insightful explorations of critical moments in Civil War history. The world premiere of this work will coincide with the opening of the Center for Education and Leadership, which will include new galleries exploring the immediate aftermath of Lincoln’s assassination and the evolution of his legacy.

Performances are scheduled for January 25 through February 18. Tickets are available now. For additional information, including a link to order tickets, click here. A trailer for the production appears below.

Note: David Emerson Toney (Frederick Douglass) had to withdraw from the production due to a private health matter. Craig Wallace will step in to portray Frederick Douglass. To allow adequate rehearsal time, performances scheduled for January 20-24 as well as the media performance scheduled for January 25 were canceled. However, new dates were added to the end of the play's run. Please click here for information about ticket refunds and exchanges.

Blue Ridge Technical and Community College is sponsoring a bus trip for those in the Martinsburg, West Virginia area who would like to see David in Necessary Sacrifices. For more information, click here. An article about the trip also appeared in the Spirit of Jefferson in Jefferson County, WV.

Click here to read the Washington Post review of Necessary Sacrifices.

For links to the latest media coverage of Necessary Sacrifices, follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@davidselbycom). Those article links will eventually appear on the web site, but not quite as quickly.

To view rehearsal photos featuring David Selby, click here. For production photos featuring the entire cast, please visit the Ford's Theatre Facebook page.

On January 13, The Washington Post began a knew "Show and Tell" series in which arts professionals are asked to share advice that can be applied to everyday life. David Selby was asked about public speaking tips that we can learn from Abraham Lincoln. Click here to read the piece.

In 2009, David Selby portrayed Abraham Lincoln in The Heavens Are Hung in Black, a world premiere play by James Still commissioned by Ford's Theatre to mark the grand reopening of the facility following renovations as well as the bicentennial of the birth of President Lincoln. The Heavens Are Hung in Black ran from February 3 to March 8, 2009. David returned to Ford's Theatre in June 2011 to participate in their annual gala.

New Dark Shadows Movie

Filming is underway in England for a new Dark Shadows motion picture directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp as vampire Barnabas Collins. In March, in response to numerous fan inquiries that we received about David's feelings about the film, he posted some comments on his blog. We can now confirm, as announced at the Dark Shadows panel at the San Diego Comic Con, that David will appear in the new film. He flew to England to work on the film in late June and was joined by Jonathan Frid (Barnabas Collins), Lara Parker (Angelique), and Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie Evans), all of whom have cameos. The photograph of David Selby and Lara Parker seen below was taken at Pinewood Studios during their visit to the set on June 30, 2011. The film is currently scheduled to premiere in May 2012.

In 1974, David Selby appeared alongside Ron Leibman in The Super Cops, a film directed by Gordon Parks, who is probably best known for his work on Shaft. The film was based on the true story of New York police officers David Greenberg, played by Leibman, and Robert Hantz, played by Selby.

David Selby was on hand to discuss The Super Cops as part of The Wright Stuff II at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles on Tuesday, January 18. Also participating was Lorenzo Semple, Jr., the film's co-writer, and moderator/host Edgar Wright, director of Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

The Super Cops was the second film on a double bill with Dirty Harry. Quentin Tarantino was a special surprise guest to introduce and discuss Dirty Harry with Wright, and he stayed on to watch The Super Cops.

On Wednesday, January 19, the day following the screening, with a little prodding from Edgar Wright via Twitter, it was announced that The Super Cops, which has never been released legitimately on DVD in the US, would be released as part of the Warner Archive. The Super Cops was released as a made-to-order DVD release on September 13, 2011. Click here for purchase information.

Edgar Wright posted a wrap-up of The Wright Stuff II on his blog.

To view a few promotional images from The Super Cops, visit the Photos area of the site.

A more extensive gathering of images and publicity related to the film is located on Criseyde's David Selby Site.

New Books by David Selby: The Blue Door and My Shadowed Past

As he mentions in his note on the Blog, David has written two new books.

There is a legend in the Southern Appalachian Mountains that the color "haint blue" is a very special shade of blue that wards off evil spirits and curses. Sally Hanks, a committed environmentalist, provides that protection for her mountaintop against the forces of King Coal and the ruthlessness and greed of the coal company owners and politicians who fight her and her supporters in their quest to blast the top third of the mountains off as a way to mine coal. Based on actual people and events, The Blue Door considers the motives of those wishing to dismantle the Clean Water Act and the political figures who enable those attempts. It also delves into the lives and loves of the men and women who continue to fight to save the integrity of the remaining mountains, the courage of the judges who fight the money of King Coal, and the reality of life in the middle of an Armageddon reality.

The Blue Door was reviewed in the November 7 edition of Charleston's Sunday Gazette-Mail. The novelwas also recently reviewed by Norman Julian of Morgantown's Dominion Post.

In My Shadowed Past, actor-writer David Selby reflects on a pivotal time in his life and career— a turbulent and vital period in the 1960s when America was experiencing profound social and political changes.

It was an era in which civil rights marches and anti-war rallies were rampant as the youth movement organized in the streets and on campuses across the nation, demonstrating for peace and equality.

In the midst of the turmoil and tension was a daily afternoon escape—an opportunity to become drawn into a Gothic world of fantasy, suspense and romance on the ABC-TV serial Dark Shadows.

Selby joined the cast in 1968 as the mysterious Quentin Collins, and now, four decades later, documents the ongoing devotion to Dark Shadows and its special historical context.

My Shadowed Past features previously unpublished photographs.

Both books made their debut at the Dark Shadows Festival in Burbank and are now available for purchase from DavidSelby.com. Please visit the Books page to order them.

The Blue Door is also available in a Kindle edition.

TNT Tuesday Night Mystery: Deck the Halls

David appeared in Deck the Halls, part of TNT's slate of original movies airing this fall/winter as the TNT Tuesday Night Mystery. From TNT's original media release about the film:

Adapted from the first book in Mary Higgins Clark and daughter Carol Higgins Clark’s series of holiday mystery novels, this warm-hearted story brings together two of the authors’ most popular characters: Detective Regan Reilly and cleaning-woman-turned-private-eye Alvirah Meegan. The women investigate the kidnapping of Regan’s father and a young female driver just before the holidays. The race is on to rescue the pair and get them home in time for Christmas. Howard Burkons (John Q, TNT’s The Ron Clark Story) is set to write the script. He will executive-produce with Brenda Friend (Joan of Arc, The Ron Clark Story).

David portrayed Luke Reilly, father of Detective Regan Reilly. Jane Alexander, who has been paired with David several times, most recently in HBO's Tell Me You Love Me, played Luke's wife, Nora Regan Reilly.

Deck the Halls premiered on Tuesday, December 20, and was rebroadcast several times during the holiday season. Deck the Halls was also be seen on Canada's Super Channel.

Watch a preview clip featuring David on the TNT web site.

For additional information, including photos from Deck the Halls, visit the TNT Mystery Movie Night page.

Some cable subscribers are still able to watch the complete movie online, click here to see if your service permits online viewing.

Dark Shadows Festival

David attended the 2011 Dark Shadows Festival, celebrating the 45th anniversary of the show's premiere on June 27, 1966. The event took place from Friday, August 19, to Sunday, August 21, at the New York Marriott Hotel at the Brooklyn Bridge.

Click here for photo coverage from BroadwayWorld.com.

Morgantown Theatre Company Presents A Celebration of Children's Theatre and Into the Woods

David served as the narrator for Morgantown Theatre Company's production of Into the Woods on Friday, August 26, and Saturday, August 27, at 7:30 pm at the Metropolitan Theatre in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Morgantown Theatre Company also hosted A Celebration of Children's Theatre, which honored David and his wife, Chip. The Selbys ran a children's musical theatre summer camp in New York for ten years before moving to Los Angeles. The event included a reception and special performance by the children of the Morgantown Theatre Company

A Celebration of Children's Theatre took place on Wednesday, August 24, from 6:30 to 9:00 pm at the Waterfront Place Hotel. All proceeds support MTC's programs for area schoolchildren.

On Tuesday, August 16, David was interviewed on the Morgantown AM radio program along with Morgantown Theater Company Director Hillary Phillips. Click here to access a podcast of the program.

Articles also appeared in West Virginia University's Daily Athenaeum and the Charleston Daily Mail.

MetroNews includes video of an interview with David.

Reckoning with Torture: Memos and Testimonies from “The War on Terror”

David Selby participated in a dramatic reading of Reckoning with Torture: Memos and Testimonies from "The War on Terror," a script developed by the American Civil Liberties Union and PEN American Center, which uses documents that demonstrate the abuse and torture at Guantanamo. Interspersed between the readings were videos of interviews with former Guantanamo detainees.

The dramatic reading was followed by a panel discussion, moderated by Stephen Rohde, Chair, ACLU Foundation of Southern California. The panel included Julie Gutman, Director, Program for Torture Victims, and Rabbi Aryeh Cohen, Professor at American Jewish University and member of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America.

This free event was held in observance of the United Nations' International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on Sunday, June 26, at 3:00 pm at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, 3646 Coldwater Canyon, Studio City, California.
 
Co-sponsors: Los Angeles Region Religious Campaign Against Torture, a Regional Partner of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture; ACLU-Southern California; American Friends Service Committee, Pacific-Southwest Region; Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace; Progressive Christians Uniting; Program for Torture Victims; Rabbis for Human Rights-North America; St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church.

The video on the left, featuring clips and interviews from the event, accompanied an article by Linda Rubin from Sherman Oaks Patch.

Ford's Theatre Society's Annual Gala

In 2009, David Selby portrayed Abraham Lincoln in The Heavens Are Hung in Black, a world premiere play by James Still commissioned by Ford's Theatre to mark the grand reopening of the facility following renovations as well as the bicentennial of the birth of President Lincoln. The Heavens Are Hung in Black ran from February 3 to March 8, 2009. David returned to Ford's Theatre in June 2011 to participate in their annual gala.

David presented a scene from a new play commissioned by Ford's Theatre and written by Richard Hellesen that explores the two documented encounters between Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln during a period of national crisis. He also read part of Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address.

Images and links to media coverage appear in the Photos area of the site.

L.A. Theatre Works Presents Dracula by Bram Stoker

David Selby portrayed Dr. Van Helsing in L.A. Theatre Works' production of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Ben Cross, who was originally slated to appear as Dracula, had to bow out due to other obligations. Simon Templeman took his place.

Rosalind Ayres directed. Charles Morey's play based on Stoker's novel also featured John Glover as Renfield, Karl Miller as Jonathan Harker, Nick Toren as Dr. Seward, Lisa O'Hare as Mina, and Moira Quirk as Lucy. Denise Carole, Sheelagn Cullen, and Andre Sogliuzzo rounded out the cast.

"Before Twilight and True Blood, only one vampire commanded "the children of the night." In this blood-thirsty tale of unholy terror, Count Dracula slips into Victorian London with a cargo of his native Transylvanian soil - so he can rest between victims. The city seems helpless against his frightful power, and only one man, Dr. Van Helsing, can stop the carnage. But to do this, he must uncover the vampire’s lair and pierce his heart with a wooden stake."

L.A. Theatre Works records radio theatre productions before a live audience for eventual broadcast on radio and/or distribution on compact disc or via digital download.

Performances of Dracula took place Wednesday, May 18, through Sunday, May 22, 2011 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California.