What happened at Ford's Theatre following the shooting of Abraham Lincoln in 1865?

That's the question playwright Jeffrey Hatcher asks in the world premiere of his play, Sockdology, opening June 4 (following June 1-3 previews) in a presentation by Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery, AL.

The dark comedy shows the 19th-century actors, who were performing Our American Cousin at the time of the shooting, avoiding the inquiries of the inspector investigating what would be the crime of the century. With the glare of a new spotlight on them, no one is the cast is left untouched.

"Sockdology" is a 19th-century boxing term used in Our American Cousin. It means "a finishing blow" or "the brutal end of everything."

Terrence LaMude directs a cast that includes Greta Lambert, Traber Burns, Philip Pleasants, Sonja Lanzener, Rodney Clark, Stephanie Cozart, Barry Boys, Sam Gregory and Chris Mixon. Designers are Richard Isackes (scenic), Kristine Kearney (costume), Rachel Budin (lighting) and Bethany Tucker (sound).

Hatcher's plays, seen widely in regional theatre, include Three Viewings, Scotland Road, and an adaptation of The Turn of the Screw. He lives in Minneapolis.

Sockdology continues in repertory at ASF's Carolyn Blount Theatre through July 24.

Tickets are $15-$25. For information, call (800) 841-4273.

-- By Kenneth Jones