Sally, a resident of Bloomfield, Vt., spends time researching historical figures and their environment, and embodies the subject as if their knowledge was her own. “When I do Mrs. Lincoln, I know what Washington City looks like. I know the political parties. I know if I can describe something–like how there’s a pig farm two miles in back of the Executive Mansion. It’s just so when someone asks me a question, I would be able to answer it.”
Dressing in accurate period garb for her performance is important to her. “All of my clothes are well-researched, so it’s just like you step back to meet me in my time period,” she said.
Her interest in these performances stem from a lifetime fascinating with history. Her husband, Paul Raffanello, is someone who shares her love for reenactments and living history. “When I started to reenact, he was doing the Revolutionary War and then went into the Civil War. We knew each other as friends and we saw each other at events,” explained Sally. The two eventually joined forces, and Paul today takes part in her presentations–Paul is a dutiful Pinkerton agent by “Mrs. Lincoln’s” side during the show as part of the private detective agency that was a precursor to the Secret Service.
Her reenactment career has included an event that saw Sally riding alongside documentarian Ken Burns, well-known for his Civil War series on PBS. “They were honoring Ken Burns, and we were all going to go to a dinner,” said Sally. “They arranged to have Ken Burns ride in the carriage with Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln. The cavalry soldiers were behind us, and a period carriage carried us. And he looked and said, ‘Yes, look, people are coming out of their buildings. That’s exactly what they would have done.’ We’re going by the highway and people are coming out of their buildings and looking. It was a fascinating evening with him. And I learned a lot.”
She subsequently went on to participate in Civil War encampments, as well as sharing her portrayal of Mrs. Lincoln in schools and libraries. Sally also became a member of the New Hampshire Humanities and Solo Together organizations.
Sally’s performance of Mary Todd Lincoln at the Great North Woods Center for the Arts will be a two-act production, with period music provided by North Woods. Music will be performed before the presentation and during the intermission of the show, covering notable songs from the era, including The “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “When Johnny Comes Marching Home,” “Battle Cry of Freedom”–and even a vocal rendition of Lincoln’s campaign song, “Lincoln and Liberty Too.” The band is comprised of Monica White and Kim Egan on fiddles, Jo Beth Dudley and Cindy Martindill on flutes, Tom Jordan on keyboard and Charlie Jordan on mandolin and fiddle. The band will also be attired in period 1860s clothing.
The GNWCA performance will take place a day before what would have been Abraham Lincoln’s 215th birthday. As Mary Todd Lincoln, Sally’s presentation will cover her life, along with the lives of women during the Civil War era. She’ll speak on her meeting and marriage to Abraham Lincoln, his campaign, and his wife’s role in advising him throughout his presidency. In the second half of the performance, Mary Todd Lincoln will announce to the audience that she and her husband are off to a show at the theater–with her subsequently detailing the aftermath of her husband’s assassination at Ford’s Theatre in 1865.
The show will take place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 11, at the Great North Woods Center for the Arts in Columbia. Tickets are $20, with half price for young people ages 5-18. Tickets are available at www.gnwca.org and at the door on the day of the show. For more information, call 603-246-8998.