Broadway sensation Keala Settle will take on a rare dramatic role in Mrs. President, opening at London’s Charing Cross Theatre from 23 January to 8 March 2026, with press night on 27 January.
This gripping psychological drama reimagines the life of Mary Lincoln, America’s First Lady, exploring the grief, ambition, and resilience behind one of history’s most vilified women. Following its original staging in January 2025, the production returns fully reinvented — richer in scope and sharper in focus.
Settle, best known for The Greatest Showman, Waitress, and Sister Act, plays Mary Lincoln in a non-musical role that promises to showcase her extraordinary depth and power. Joining her is West End veteran Hal Fowler (Les Misérables, Aspects of Love, Flowers for Mrs Harris) as Mathew Brady, the pioneering photojournalist who helped shape America’s visual history.
Director Bronagh Lagan, whose credits include Olivier-nominated Cruise and What’s On Stage Award-winning Flowers for Mrs Harris, brings new dramaturgy to John Ransom Phillips’ original play. Lagan says:
“In today’s polarised political climate, Mary Lincoln’s journey — navigating intense public scrutiny while balancing her roles as wife, mother, and political figure — feels profoundly resonant. Through her strength and vulnerability, Mrs. President invites us to reconsider how society and media portray women, revealing the human cost of leadership and the resilience required to endure it.”
Keala Settle adds:
“I was so struck by Mary’s story and by the profound human cost she endured. She was a woman whose identity for centuries was put in a box and whose legacy continues to be defined by other people’s ideologies. I’m excited by this opportunity to tell her story and connect with London audiences. I hope they will see both myself and Mary in a brand-new light.”
Playwright John Ransom Phillips comments:
“History rarely grants women the right to define themselves — Mary Lincoln least of all. Her story deserves to be told not as rumour, spectacle, or judgment, but as the truth of a brilliant, wounded, and resilient woman who bore the human cost of a nation’s spotlight.”
The creative team includes designer Anna Kelsey, lighting designer Derek Anderson, and sound designer Eamonn O’Dwyer. Mrs. President is produced by Art Pond Foundation with general management by Aria Entertainment.
To coincide with the production, Phillips will present Mary Lincoln and Frida Kahlo UNFRAMED, an exhibition of watercolours and oil paintings at the Royal Watercolour Society’s gallery from 30 January to 21 February 2026, creating a dialogue between two iconic women across time and culture.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
