Wednesday July 15th 2026
Kaely Michels-Gualtieri
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
For over a decade, Kaely Michels-Gualtieri defined her life forty feet in the air as an elite solo swinging trapeze artist, performing for Cirque du Soleil and Ringling Bros. But after a series of life-threatening injuries grounded her, Kaely is now returning to the stage bringing a new show unearthing the overlooked history behind Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.
The production will make its world premiere at the Bubble at Rotunda Theatre (Venue 65) as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 7–23 August 2026. The musical is written by Kaely Michels-Gualtieri, now a Cambrudge educated historian and playwright, with original score by Chi Wai Hu, and lyrics by both Hu and Sabrina Steuer.
Most American schoolchildren learn the same version of the assassination: John Wilkes Booth, a madman, avenging the Confederate defeat. 1 Night at Ford’s Theatre, a new musical, asks what that story leaves out, exploring the relationship between the Booth brothers in the leadup to the crime.
Framed as a “circus of memory” hosted by P.T. Barnum, this musical traces the brothers from their shared childhood into radically different paths: the older brother would become America’s most celebrated actor, while the younger would become America’s most infamous assassin.
For Michels-Gualtieri, the story begins after the curtain falls. It was not John Wilkes Booth’s crime that captivated her, but Edwin Booth’s lifelong struggle to keep performing after his brother changed the course of American history.
After years traveling the world hanging by a thread, the next chapter of her life began by pulling on a historical thread she couldn’t let go, and 1 Night at Ford’s Theatre was born. Nine months after Lincoln’s assassination, Edwin returned to the stage to play Hamlet. And now, more than 160 years later, Edwin’s story returns too.
Ahead of its premiere, Kaely Michels-Gualtieri, said: “After my injury, I wasn’t asking where I’d perform next, I was asking who I was if I could no longer do what had defined my life. Losing trapeze meant losing the language I’d always used to tell stories. When performing was no longer possible, I found myself asking if the thing you’ve devoted your life to disappears, who are you afterwards? I think that’s why this story resonated with me so strongly. It isn’t just about history; it’s about people navigating impossible moments of change, trying to decide who they become when the role they’ve always played no longer fits.”
To book a ticket to 1 Night at Ford’s Theatre, visit: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/1-night-at-ford-s-theatre
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