From the Writers
Alex Timbers, Book Writer:
Andrew Jackson is the embodiment of arrested adolescence in a way. He was the kind of guy who was the frontiersman in this world of political elites (which is sort of like being bullied and shoved in a locker), but he had his way in the end. And there is a metaphorical level of bleeding the country, since he was also a "cutter" in real life.
Jackson is part of this lineage of American politicians that we all love. If the choice is strong-but-wrong or weak-but-rational, we choose strong-but-wrong every time. That cowboy swagger, down-home charm, the fact that he doesn’t talk correctly — it’s exciting but dangerous. What does that say about American character?
I look at the piece as sort of cubist. These are the historical events and facts I need to cover. So we look for the most fun way, genre-wise or whatever, to explain who these people were and what they cared about.
Michael Friedman, Composer/Lyricist:
Alex and I found that using comedy—especially a very contemporary-feeling comedy—to illustrate the history actually allowed the historical figures and the historical actions to seem more resonant. It helped us realize how contemporary the politics of the early 19th century are to us.
A lot of Jackson’s legacy is profoundly problematic for America, both the populist impulse that I think now we're finding is a very complicated thing in our society and especially with his legacy regarding the Native Americans and to slavery, as well.
I think that we think of the show as about the adolescence coming of age of America. Jackson’s Democratic Party was part of a movement in America fully disconnected from European roots, and one that seemed, at the time, particularly emblematic of a young country. Watching Andrew Jackson try to bring America into adulthood and bring himself into adulthood is the play’s emotional journey. It ends up, you know, killing his wife and taking its toll on him and on his legacy. In the end, his legacy as a president is, at best, a complicated one. And at worst, many people really hate his presidency and what it resulted in.
Alex Timbers
Alex Timbers (Book) is Artistic Director of the award-winning downtown company Les Freres Corbusier. His recent directing credits include Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (Broadway, the Public Theater, and Center Theatre Group; Outer Critics Circle award, Outstanding Musical; Drama Desk award, Outstanding Book); The Pee-wee Herman Show; Gutenberg! The Musical! (Drama Desk nomination, Best Director of a Musical); Hell House (Drama Desk nomination, Unique Theatrical Experience); A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant (Obie Award and Garland Award, Best Director); Heddatron; Boozy; and Dance Dance Revolution with Les Freres Corbusier. He is the former president of Yale Dramat and a Usual Suspect with New York Theatre Workshop.
Michael Friedman
Michael Friedman (Composer, Lyricist) is the composer/lyricist for Saved and the Civilians’ The Great Immensity, This Beautiful City, Gone Missing, [I Am] Nobody’s Lunch, and Canard Canard Goose? as well as The Brand New Kid, In the Bubble, and Hoover Comes Alive! He co-authored the Civilians’ Paris Commune with Steve Cosson. He served as the dramaturg on the 2004 Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun. Friedman recently performed in Lincoln Center’s American Songbook in a concert of his songs. Friedman is a founding associate artist for the Civilians and a Usual Suspect with New York Theatre Workshop. He has been a MacDowell Fellow, a Hodder Fellow, and the Barron Visiting Professor at Princeton University. He received an Obie Award for sustained excellence in 2007.
Synopsis
Andrew Jackson comes of age in late 18th-century Tennessee. Clipping through his life, the play shows the death of his family and his subsequent enlistment in the military. He grows disdainful of the government’s indifference to the people of the frontier. Then he meets Rachel; they fall in love and marry, though Rachel is not yet divorced from her current husband. Jackson organizes a militia to remove Indian tribes throughout the Southeast. The Battle of New Orleans transforms Jackson into a national hero. He becomes governor of Florida and runs for President in 1824 but loses due to political maneuvering. After four years of political exile, he forms the Democratic Party and wins the 1828 election. However, the accusation of his rivals, along with the stress of the election, leads to Rachel’s death.
Once in office, the “People’s President” polls the American populace on all of his executive decisions. As he faces tougher problems, however, the public begins to resent him. Jackson decides to take responsibility and bold action, and declares that he alone will make policy decisions regarding the Indians’ fate—sending federal troops to forcibly move the Indians’ West. This satire makes a spectacle of politics and populism, questioning how important it is to be a great leader when you’re already hot and popular.