Stage Review: Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

Oh, the man on the twenty-dollar bill has never looked like this before. Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson is playing Off-Broadway at the Public Theater until June 27th, and hopes to make the transfer to Broadway next season after rave reviews and a closing date that has been extended three times. It would make sense for the show to hit the Great White Way, seeing that it is currently the second highest grossing show the Public has ever seen (behind the Tony-nominated tuner Caroline, or Change). Bloody Bloody tells the story of our 7th President in a irreverent, modern, "fuck you" manner. Andrew Jackson has been stripped of his historical luster; here, Jackson here is a wild teenager, out to have fun while unable to deal with the big questions and problems thrown his way. The plot zips through Jackson's life with a loose narrative structure, focusing on both Jackson's rise to political power, and personal problems with his wife Rachel; it zeroes in on his dealings with the Native Americans, views on populism, and downfall as the President of the United States.

What sets Bloody Bloody apart from other rock musicals, besides its left-field subject matter, is that the show knows when not to take itself too seriously. Sure, it's filled with expletives, thrashing choreography, irreverence, skinny jeans, and lots of guyliner. However, the show is also bitingly hilarious. HILARIOUS. At the start of the show, I had problems grasping the tone; I had expected something much more self-serious, maybe due what I understood a rock musicals should be. Once I was accustomed to the show's flow, the musical was a wild ride. Not only is the show funny, but incredibly smart. The jokes are pilled on one after another; while Jackson does revel in some fratty teen jokes, the inside jokes about political history (example - there's a lyrical reference to Tocqueville) hit their mark with sly wit.

One of the problems I had with current Broadway rock opera American Idiot is that the show takes itself way too seriously - it's message is nothing new (done much better, and with more complexities, in Rent) or invigorating for the Broadway stage (hey there, Spring Awakening). The show comes off as trying too hard to be "edgy" and "punk." American Idiot does not know when to wink at the audience. I enjoyed American Idiot a lot, but the show is not the groundbreaking piece of art that it think it is. Bloody Bloody is smart and ironic, but doesn't bog itself down by trying to push its importance on the audience; the show even lampoons the emo cliche of having a character sit alone on stage under a spotlight, expressing their deepest feelings. It's a breath of fresh air in its genre. However, not everything works - there are certainly moments and jokes that do try too hard, or simply don't come off as funny. If the show does make its transfer to Broadway, there should still be tweaking done to even out book in certain spots; a few scenes that should have been a riot generated only a mild chuckle from the audience.

Bloody Bloody sets off the politically incorrect humor with well-placed sentimental moments, and moments where the show is much more than a fun historical romp. The show is fused with moments of political satire and allegory; it not only takes on the riff between Jackson as the people's president and the leader of a genocide against the Native Americans, put also acts as a critique on the role of democracy, modern political verbiage, civil rights, and problems with our political system. However, it doesn't make these parallels overly obvious, and that discovery is half the fun. I thought the show's final note was stunning, both in speech and imagery (which I feel were painfully offset by the raucous curtain call number).

Jackson may be the main character in Bloody Bloody, but he is not given a free card for the atrocities he committed. The show wonderful balances between hilarity and seriousness, the light and the dark, the mythology of Jackson as one of our best presidents or one of our worst; it's a hard line to walk, but Timbers and Friedman let their jokes breathe while mining deeper themes as well. The unique experience of this show is why it is so alluring. This is rollicking fun and thought provoking theatre. How nice. Watch out for announcement that this is officially coming to Broadway, and get ready for this crazy boy from Tennessee to rip things up. A-