Actors Liam Neeson and Holly Hunter portrayed Abraham and Mary Lincoln. The performance included the intimate letters and public speeches of the Lincolns together with photographs of the famous couple and their family displayed on a large screen. The program was narrated by Harold Holzer, author of The Lincoln Family Album, published by Doubleday. 

The event capped a day of planning for the 16th president’s 200th birthday in 2009 by the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and its Advisory Committee. The performance took place in the Coolidge Auditorium of the Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress.