Edward Askew Sothern the play that Abraham Lincoln was watching when he was assassinated. Sothern's role was Lord Dundreary, a caricature of a brainless English nobleman. At first, he was reluctant to accept the role; it was so small and unimportant that he felt it beneath him and feared it might damage his reputation. He mentioned his qualms to his friend, Joseph Jefferson, who had been cast in the leading role of Asa Trenchard in the play. Jefferson supposedly responded with the famous line: "There are no small parts, only small actors." On 15 October 1858, "Our American Cousin" premiered in New York.
The America Play the Gettysburg Address and references to the hole in Lincoln’s head from the shooting also dominate the historical allusions made. Supposed quotations from the assassination that are quoted and repeated in the play include: "The America Play" tells the story of an Abraham Lincoln impersonator, known as the Founding Father, reenacting the night Lincoln was assassinated. Customers come and pay as little as they want to act like John Wilkes Booth or anybody else the customer chooses to portray, and pretend to assassinate the Lincoln impersonator. The Founding Father was fascinated by Abraham Lincoln, saying Lincoln was his "favorite", even