When you first enter Cabaret Theatre, it’s apparent that the little black box with seating raised on descending and unassuming wood platforms is full of more energy than meets the eye. It’s the perfect setting for its latest play- Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. As you wait for the show to start, old pop-punk favorites like Fall Out Boy’s Dance, Dance and Dashboard Confessional’s Vindicated play, putting you in the mood for the satirical, yet passionate performance that will somehow transport you to the 19th Century; as if it were happening right now. You might not listen to those middle school era bands anymore, just as you might not ponder Jackson’s presidency. But you’re still happy to nod along to Patrick Stump as he dishes out those lyrics. Author’s note: 89% of the audience is singing the lyrics incorrectly as they sing under their breath.
When the play opens, you’re bombarded with actors in excessive eyeliner, dressed in artfully disheveled punk rock attire- a tribute to contemporary steampunk fashion if I’ve ever seen it. The understated set design refuses to take away from the fiery performances, a tactic reminiscent of musicals like Rent and Spring Awakening. Just when you think you might lose interest in the dialogue, you’re pulled back by an exciting, rock-filled ensemble performance. It’s these performances, with their intoxicating choreography, that make the play worthwhile.
The play falls a little short in its accuracy, offering a revisionist history of Jackson’s presidency. Nevertheless, this is art, not my 9:50 American Presidency lecture. I quite enjoyed the Foucault reference (nicely done). If taken as a commentary of current politics, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson can suggest one overarching theme: it’s fucking hard to be president, and that pleasing everyone (all carried out in the name of Jackson’s “populism”) is impossible. The play even pretentiously hints that maybe everyone enfranchised with the right to vote really shouldn’t be. The best we can do is find humor at whoever’s unlucky enough the hold the president’s position, whether it’s Andrew Jackson dealing with the “Injuns”, or Barack Obama with the Tea Party.
In fact, the play’s humor is often very witty, stringing the whole play together and only falling short a few times. When this happens it quickly is able to pick up the pieces by inserting quippy contemporary jokes to the purposely antiquated story-line.
As for the performances of the actors themselves, Ryan Gentek, (Andrew Jackson) makes up for what he lacks in voice projection in his captivating acting skills. The man who steals the show is undoubtedly, Daniel English (Henry Clay), alongside equally captivating Samantha Vargas and Alyssa Krompier, who play various roles. It’s the chemistry between the cast, however, that’s most admirable, each actor or actress playing off of one another beautifully.
Bottom line: go see this anachronism of a play, whose punk rock theme seems to have nothing to do with Andrew Jackson, until it has everything to do with him. See it for the exceptional force and power it brings to a confined, disheveled, most-likely-falling-apart space, in the best way possible.
Dates:
Saturday April 12 @ 8pm
Tickets:
$7 Students/Faculty/Staff
$10 General Admission
Gioia Kennedy