Event

NONE BUT THE BEST

The period following the Civil War was a time of great turmoil: reconstruction, industrialization, the Gilded Age, emancipation, labor struggles and women's suffrage. Through it all, a Boston family newspaper, "The Youth's Companion," was a steady presence in half a million homes across the nation, featuring voices of poets and presidents, stories about science and travel and promotions of patriotism in the schools. Publisher Daniel Sharp Ford quietly used his wealth to help thousands of Bostonians through missions programs of the Ruggles Street Baptist Church, and the founding of New England Baptist Hospital. After his death, the Boston Baptist Social Union which Ford founded, used part of his large bequest to the organization to found the Ford Hall Forum, America's first free public lecture series. "None but the Best" pulls back the curtain on a man whose generosity still leaves fingerprints across the city and the nation.

Written by award-winning Boston playwright, Patrick Gabridge, Ford's story is told by his daughter, Ella Ford Hartshorn, who assisted in Ford's work both at the Companion and in the neighborhoods; James Upham of Medford, editor of the ground-breaking premiums department at the paper, and C.A. Stephens, the staff writer from Maine whose travels and adventures charmed families across the country. Looking back over Ford's life, they provide a young New York Times reporter with background for an article about Ford after his death (Ford never allowed interviews or photos during his life time). The story is brought to life by stories and ads from the Companion and period music by New England composers.

Directed by Jeff Mosser, musical direction by Kay Dunlap.

Appropriate for adults and children ages 6 and up. To discuss wheel chair accessibility please email info@ingoodcompanytheater.org