Can a photo really capture a ghost?

‘Summerland’ explores the man who captured the ghost of Abe Lincoln.

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How to go

What: “Summerland”

When: Opens Feb. 4 and ends its run March 5. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sundays.

Where: Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, 962 Mt. Adams Circle, Cincinnati

Cost: $30-$85

More info: (800) 582-3208 or www.cincyplay.com

The play “Summerland” tells the story of William H. Mumler, the man who photographed the souls of the dead.

In 1861, Mumler was working as a jewelry engraver and amateur photographer. One day while taking a self-portrait, the resulting photograph featured a ghostly figure behind him that strongly resembled a cousin who had been deceased for 12 years. Before long, he was working full-time as a “spirit photographer,” attracting clients as prestigious as Mary Todd Lincoln, the widow of slain president Abraham Lincoln.

The latest play by contemporary playwright Arlitia Jones, “Summerland” opens at the Cincinnati Playhouse this weekend.

Michael Evan Haney, director of “Summerland,” said, two timely factors contributed to Mumler’s unexpected wealth and fame: the Civil War and the mystique of photography.

“America lost more people in the Civil War than all the other wars combined,” he said. “There were a lot of grief-stricken people who were desperate to contact their loved ones. Photography was a new technology. People were mystified by it; some even thought it was the work of the devil. They thought if a living person could be captured, why not a spirit?”

Unfortunately for Mumler, he lived in a time when science was just as popular as spirituality, and he soon found himself indicted for fraud, though he was never convicted. Proving that his detractors were as significant as his admirers, the celebrated businessman P.T. Barnum testified against him. While the modern consensus is that Mumler was just a con man, the play emphasizes the “what if” aspect for dramatic purposes.

“He never explained how he (got those images),” Haney said. “Mary Todd Lincoln went to see him in disguise and under a false name. (Mumler) photographed her and Abraham appeared in the background. She published it, and people started flocking to him. If he was a fraud, where did he get the images of loved ones of people he’d never met? It’s a mystery. Nobody ever proved he was a fake.”

Indeed, Haney implied that if there was villainy in this story, it was practiced by the authorities.

“Spiritualism was huge, and it was taking revenue from the church,” he said. “Attendance was dropping, and I think they put a lot of pressure on the mayor of New York. And of course, there were scientists who thought such a thing was simply impossible. Barnum was probably useful, because the prosecution thought people would believe a con man calling out another con man.”

Yet despite these speculations, Haney said the play doesn’t take any official stance on Mumler.

“Arlitia has taken the facts that made the story to try to explain what happened, while leaving the audience to decide what really happened,” he said. “The story is touching, mysterious and a little spooky.”

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