D.C. Lunch-Hour Activities: A Play at Ford's Theatre

A midday visit to Ford's Theatre might seem like an overly touristy way to spend your lunch break, but why should the out-of-towners get to snag the front row to history?

The Washington of yore comes alive at the iconic playhouse, where two 45-minute one-act plays give visitors the chance to brush up on their Civil War-era history inside the newly renovated theater, where President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865.

The performances are staged between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. regularly throughout the summer.

"One of our priorities is to remind Washingtonians that Ford's Theatre is part of their history as residents of this city," said Sarah Jencks, the theater's director of education programming. "And the history plays provide a great opportunity to be swept away into another time during your lunch hour."

The two-man plays, written by Richard Hellesen, focus on events immediately after Lincoln's assassination. History buffs and novices alike will find humor and enlightenment in the dialogue.

"The Road From Appomattox" is a tense, illuminating tete-a-tete between the vanquished Gen. Robert E. Lee and the victorious Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, as they debate how to reunite the country in the wake of the Civil War.

"One Destiny" revisits Lincoln's assassination from the perspective of the theater's owner and an actor, Harry Hawk, who performed on that fateful evening from the very stage on which today's reimagining is played out.

You can't eat your lunch inside the theater, but there is no shortage of food options in Penn Quarter. Timed-entry passes, available from the theater's box office or through Ticketmaster, are required for the plays, but they'll set you back far less than your turkey on white: They're free.