Next Week: Hang Out With Abe & Mary Todd Lincoln At New Utrecht Reformed Church

President Abraham Lincoln and First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln will visit Bensonhurst next week!

That’s right, played by Robert Costello and Cheryl Mustachio, the couple will appear together in a conversation on Tuesday evening, February 10, 2015, at 7:30pm before an audience in the Parish House of the New Utrecht Reformed Church (1827 84th Street).

Costello and Mustachio have developed a unique program which provides a different way of looking at Lincoln’s career and presidency. The event is particularly timely, as it commemorates the 150th Anniversary of the final year of the Civil War.

Costello has appeared as Lincoln for a number of years before adult and student audiences. He is a student of Lincoln and Civil War history and a member of the New Jersey 150th Civil War Anniversary Committee, the New Jersey Civil War Heritage Association and a number of other historical organizations and is the “resident Lincoln” at the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum in Allentown, Pa.

Mustachio is a retired teacher who has been appearing as Mrs. Lincoln since 2009, speaking to schools and civic groups and appearing in “living history” presentations and at re-enactments. She has studied Mary Lincoln intensely and presents her as a person of substance and a loving and caring wife and mother.

Earlier in the day, the Lincolns are scheduled to meet over 600 elementary school students in a morning program at New Utrecht High School, also sponsored by the Friends organization.

The Parish House, which dates back to 1783, is part of the landmarked campus of the New Utrecht Reformed Church, home to a congregation organized by the Dutch settlers in 1677. The grounds also include the 1827 Church – now undergoing interior repairs and restoration – and the New Utrecht Liberty Pole, which traces back to 1783.

The Lincoln presentation is one in a series of free history-related events and concerts offered each year by the Friends of Historic New Utrecht. For more information about the event, New Utrecht’s landmarks, and its history, contact 718-256-7173 or email them. You can also visit the group’s website and Facebook page.

The Friends organization’s program of free public events is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development, Councilman Vincent Gentile, Councilman Mark Treyger, and by funding from the Verizon Foundation.