Ford's Theatre Society Review

One of the most stops in D.C., be prepared for the exhibits to be dimly lit to preserve the artifacts.

Lots of information about the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln's assassination.

Very informative and cool way to teach your kids about what happened and really gives you scale of certain things

Took my best friend and her children (12 and 8) here it was awesome for all! The kids were in awe of being a part of history!

Totally restored! The museum was amazing and very informative.

Cool piece of history and they offer some great shows! Not a bad seat in the house!

Love Ford's theater, small, intimate, historical no bad seats, just saw "A Christmas Carol", wonderful show!

We saw the The Christmas Carol and it was great. Staff was friendly and seats were great.

Very small, quaint & friendly. You hv to enter thru the museum to get to the theater so get the early, the line gets long. We were among the 1st & chose to go to the gift shop & relax on the benches - the line was 200 deep before we knew it. No worries, just good info to share with others. Like the lady told to us ("save the Peterson house & Educ Center until after the show if the line is long") she was right.

We saw the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee here. If you come for a show, you can visit the exhibit downstairs for free. Arrive early to give yourself time to explore. One notable thing about this theater is that there are columns that obstruct the view of the stage. Especially in the orchestra if you don't get the highest priced seats, there could be a column that blocks your view. They don't tell you this when they're selling tickets. It's a thin column, but nonetheless it was a bit annoying for viewing.

Great place to learn about America s history, our guide was very knowledgeable and that is amazing thing to have. He engaged us on a good conversation.

Ranger talk is thorough, but a bit long. Book tickets in advance since not all options are available at all times. Worthwhile if you like Lincoln history.

Quaint theater that delivers big sound. The seats were spacious and comfortable. The bathrooms were not available during the show, and required leaving the theater into the lobby to use one. Besides that, i enjoyed myself.

Bucket list item. DC tourist oriented. Don't expect cutting edge theater. Just a solid classy performance.

The food was awesome. A must go. Plz go to this place.

Very interesting to see the progression of the Civil War leading up to the death of Lincoln. Admission was free but there was a box for donations.

Historical site with documented information about Abraham Lincoln's death.

Historic play house where President Lincoln was assassinated. Plexiglass covers entrance to room where President Lincoln sat. Basement has a small Museum which was very dark more lighting needed. Walk across the street to house, where Lincoln was laid out. Both free to public. Highly recommended to see.

Great little museum across the street from the theatre

This is both a working theater and a museum run by the National Park Service. Below the theater, the museum covers Abraham Lincoln's presidency and death in good detail. Lincoln's box in the theater is preserved and decorated with a flag banner, and can be seen easily from below.

The plays shown are pretty eclectic, and while they might not be up to the caliber of other DC theaters, they're often pretty good. They tend to be kid-friendly, probably due to the frequent field trips.

The gift shop has some good Lincoln t-shirts and memorabilia too. The coffee is terrible though.

Was closed getting ready for a show, but have been there a few years ago.

Good shows and a great museum! I love their free preview lotteries too.

Definitely not a mind-blowing experience !!!

Not only was the play extremely boring, but I watched the president get shot. 3/10 would not recommend.

You'll get chills. So wonderful to see. So much history in one building!

The theater was kind of small not much seat room. Chairs small. Room was very warm after awhile. Play was good. Wasn't too long and fact and fiction good blend. Looking forward to the Wiz.

Saw "A Christmas Carol" last night and it was so fun. The venue is historic and the play is classic and the cast and staff were fab. I would go again in a heartbeat.

Very informative and the rangers were really helpful in answering questions

Suggest booking in advance and that way you'll see what areas are available at what time.

The Petersen House is part of the entrance ticket and whilst small there is an extensive museum next to it giving more detailed information about the events and Lincoln himself

Completely engineered to handle massive numbers of tourists. The actors and performances are very professional.

So much history, they have a great exhibit honoring and respecting the life of Abraham Lincoln across the street.

I was disappointed to know that nothing on the inside was original.

Seeing the actual gun that shot President Lincoln was cool.

Let's be honest, you go here to see where Lincoln was assassinated. The working theater is fun and they have nice shows!

The history is just oozing out at this place. Very informative self guided tours, flows very smoothly and makes sense.

Be sure to take the tour that includes time in the museum and rent the accompanying personal audio tour.

If you are into history involving Abraham Lincoln, this location has to be on your bucket list. We were not there for a performance; however, we did go for the tour and just loved the information and history that was presented. Be prepared to spend some time here as there is a museum in the basement, and you can go across the street to the Petersen House as well. We did a full review on our blog site and YouTube channel.

We saw the "Christmas Carol" which was performed beautifully! Included in the ticket was a visit to the Lincoln Museum in the basement. The museum was very informative and presented in an interesting way that held my interest.
Staff were very pleasant and helpful.

Good time getting know some history of America and Abraham lincoln. And it's free

The museum under the theater is great! I usually have a good guide but sometime you get a Park service guide who's monotonous and can bore their audience. I wish they'd make it more entertaining for students and kids.

The theater itself wasn't open when I was there. But an interesting place overall

Loved this play and the theater was really nice. Had up to date seating, bathrooms and a great little cafe for snacks and drinks. Check out a production here. You'll be glad you did!

Good view & the seats were more comfortable than most.

I feel sorry for Abraham Lincoln in Ford's Theatre of 1865.

Cute museum, fantastic history. Don't expect to spend a lot of time but it is a good way to start or end a day as it is right by the Metro Center station.

The original building burnt down, so they rebuilt the theater exactly like it was when President Lincoln visited for the last time. Lots of history. A walk through guide before going into the theater. Free admission, however if you make reservations online for tickets you will have to pay. We did not have reservations and was able to walk up, get tickets, and go right in.

The theater and Museum itself was a wonderful experience. Our problem was they oversell on tickets and it was very crowded and noisy. There were several School groups there on the day at the same time and it was a distraction so that we couldn't fully enjoy the museum experience.

Loved this place. Growing up I was taught one person (Booth) was involved but come to find out there were many more conspirators. Make sure you arrive 10 to 15 minutes early, and if you do pre order the audio devices make sure you ask for them before going downstairs. Glad I came here and was able to learn so much more than what I was taught back in school.

A lesser known but still really excellent part of the free museums in Washington DC.

Where President Lincoln was shot. Good presentation

Truly surreal! It was great to sit in the grand theater and see the box seats that Lincoln was shot in. Museum in the basement is very well done. Wonderful super-sized busts of Lincoln. Stores on 2nd floor and basement. Best to save money for the corner store.

Small and discreet location that you wouldn't really notice just walking by if it wasn't for the signage. The downstairs museum is not huge but is very informative and thorough. The life size statues that seem to be standing and debating in different place can be a little surprising when you catch them in your peripheral vision. The theater itself is so bright an open that it felt almost unreal compared to the dark museum space down below.

Historical. Exceptionally friendly and helpful staff.

My kids learned more in this tour, than a 1 class lecture and tjey said it was much more fun.

I saw Ragtime, which was absolutely amazing! The space itself is gorgeous. The stage and seating is well situated. The sound was superb. I was in the first balcony, right in the middle. These were amazing seats! There were refreshments available during intermission. The people working hat were a bit rude but I think it was because they were busy. The history part was full of information. Personally, history is not my thing so I just looked at the pieces and pictures. It was nice to look at while waiting.

We thought 30 minutes and we'd be on our way...wrong! Awesome little museum with a great deal of artifacts, like the actual gun used. We found it very interesting and definitely worth the time. Just around the corner there is a fantastic Asian food restaurant as well.

Very cool to see a place of such historical significance.

Interesting well worth a visit I recommend you get the audio tour

This is the place where our 16th President was shot behind his left ear while attending the play "Our American Cousin". He was quickly taken across the street to William Peterson's boarding house where he succumbed to his injury early the next morning.
I highly recommend going to both places to learn about that fateful night and the legacy of Abraham Lincoln.

I LIKE THE WAY THE THEATRE LOOKED.
THANK OF THE HISTORY BEHIND THE THEATRE.
PRESIDENT LINCOLN I CONSIDER 1 OF 5 PRESIDENTS THAT IS ON TOP OF MY LIST THAT I ADMIRED AND WOULD LOVE TO SEE IN PERSON. OTHERS ARE TEDDY ROOSEVELT,ANDREW JACKSON, THOMAS JEFFERSON, GEORGE WASHINGTON.
I ALSO OTHER PLACES IN WASHINGTON DC.
THE WHITE HOUSE I THOUGH IT WAS BIGGER BUILDING. FROM WATCHING ON TV. ALSO THE CAPITOL BUILDING.
GO IT IS WORTH GOING TO DC AND SEEING THE HISTORY OF ONE'S COUNTRY.
CHIEF GUNNERS MATE SOCHALSKI JR

Fun one way play of sorts performed while you sit in the famous theatre. Great story telling followed up with a tour if the home across the street where President Lincoln actually died. Historic and fun.

Great way to learn more about Lincoln and history in general. Would definitely come back to watch a play at the old theater.

This is worth the visit. Lots of history. Interesting museum downstairs. Can spend hours or just a few minutes taking it all in.

Great place of historic significance however the theatre is a reconstruction based on photos from the period. The original was destroyed many tears ago. The tour options are a little confusing as well

We went to the museum in the basement and also went on to see balcony to see where Lincoln was shot. The museum has tons of info on Lincoln, not just his assassination. They have artifacts from that night including the gun used by John Wilkes Booth.

Interesting if you know a bit about Lincoln, Grant, Booth, and some of the other people during that time. Basically you sit in the theater while someone tells you what happened. If it's a busy period, make sure you get the tickets an hour or two before you expect to go (free, and I think one person can get multiple tickets... maybe four).

No wait lt was humbling to walk on such hollow ground.

This was very interesting. I recommend the tour, which goes through the theater, talks about Lincoln's assassination, and then continues at the boarding house across the street where Lincoln passed away the next morning.