Section 7, The America Play, Part 1 Summary

The play is set in "a great hole. In the middle of nowhere. The hole is an exact replica of 'The Great Hole of History.'"

"Act One: Lincoln Act"

The Foundling Father tells the story of a man who had been told all his life that he looked a lot like Abraham Lincoln, who is referred to throughout the play as "the Great Man." After referring to this man as "The Lesser Known," the Foundling Father then describes the circumstances of Lincoln's death (see "Objects/Places"), quoting several famous lines from the incident - what was being said in the play being performed at the time of the shooting, the cries of assassin John Wilkes Booth, and the exclamations of Lincoln's wife. The Foundling Father then describes how The Lesser Known built his life...