Dr. Samuel Mudd, the physician who set John Wilkes Booth’s leg after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, has been portrayed in a variety of media as an innocent victim who was wrongly accused for conspiring with Booth.
Mudd is the subject of Berkeley County author, Ed Steers’ newest work and his first play titled, “The Trial of Dr. Mudd.”
Ed Steers is a local of Berkeley Springs. He got his PhD in Molecular Biology in 1963, but retired in 1994 to pursue writing fulltime.
Steers is now known as one of the leading experts on the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, appearing on numerous television and radio shows like PBS’s Morning Edition with Bob Edwards, NBC’s Today Show, CSPAN’s Book Notes, and more.
Steers has written eight books about the Lincoln assassination, with a total of fourteen books to his name and an assortment of articles.
In 2009, Steers completed his first play, “The Trial of Dr. Mudd,” which deals with the controversy and intrigue surrounding the trial of Dr. Samuel Mudd, a Maryland native who was imprisoned for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth in the assassination of President Lincoln.
This year, the play was picked up by the Morgan Arts Council also located in Berkeley Springs and will premiere on stage in February.
Auditions for “The Trial of Dr. Mudd” will be held on Sunday, December 14th from 2-4 PM and Monday, December 15th from 7-9 PM at the Ice House in Berkeley Springs for a staged reading of Steers’ play. It will be directed by Kirsten Trump.