Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

The show opens when the cast, dressed as 19th-century American cowboys and prostitutes, take the stage. They are led by Andrew Jackson. They sing about their eagerness to strip the English, Spanish, French, and, most importantly, the Native Americans, of their land in North America. Along with this, they sing of the desire to bring political power back to the public and away from the elite ("Populism Yea Yea").

Jackson's childhood is shown in the Tennessee hills during the late 18th century. His family and the local shoe cobbler die of cholera and an Indian attack. This leads him to join the military, where he is imprisoned by the British. Jackson begins to express his disdain for the US government's lack of involvement with the people of the frontier and how he wishes someone would stand up to them ("I'm Not That Guy").

Jackson is then shown as a young adult, regaling local tavern goers with his short meeting with George Washington. He is interrupted and attacked by several Spaniards. Jackson defeats them, but is injured in the process. A woman named Rachel helps him to recover from his injuries. They fall in love during his recovery and eventually marry, though Rachel is not yet divorced from her current husband ("Illness as Metaphor"). At the end of the song, news comes that British, Indian, and Spanish forces are making advances into American territory. Meanwhile, the US government continues to do nothing to stop the attacks. Jackson realizes that if he wants this cycle to end, he must change things himself ("I'm So That Guy").

Jackson organizes a militia to remove Indian Tribes throughout the Southeast both by force and negotiation ("Ten Little Indians"). In the aftermath of a battle, he adopts a young Native American child named Lyncoya. John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, John Calhoun, and Martin Van Buren are introduced as they express their concern over Jackson's unauthorized territorial expansion. Jackson rebuffs their pleas, explaining how he has driven out the French and the Spanish, while acquiring more land than Thomas Jefferson.

The Battle of New Orleans transforms Jackson into a national hero. He becomes Governor of Florida and decides to run for United States President in 1824. Although he receives the most popular and Electoral votes, he does not have a majority, leading to a loss in the subsequent contingent election in the House of Representatives. ("The Corrupt Bargain"). Jackson spends the four years after the election at his home, The Hermitage. He returns from political exile and forms the Democratic Party. During the presidential election of 1828, Andrew Jackson becomes a surprise candidate ("Rock Star"). This is grueling both publicly and personally to Jackson and his family. Rachel, feeling as if she has no private life, questions Andrew's love for her versus the American People ("The Great Compromise").

Days before the election, a Senate panel led by Clay investigates Jackson's past wrongdoings and accuses Rachel of bigamy. Despite this, Jackson ends up winning the election and becomes the 7th President of the United States. However, the accusation of his rivals, along with the stress of the election, leads to Rachel dying of grief. He vows to use both his presidency and his wife's death as a mandate to "take this country back" ("Public Life").

Once in office, Jackson is faced with a plethora of problems, ranging from the National Bank to questions about Indian relocation. Being the “People’s President,” Jackson begins polling the American populace on all executive decisions. This draws the ire of Congress and the Supreme Court. In response, Jackson consolidates Executive Power, thus making the Presidency more powerful than Congress and the Courts. At first, his exhilarating cowboy-like governing tactics are met with great enthusiasm by the average citizen. But, as the problems grow tougher, the public begins to resent being asked to make difficult decisions ("Crisis Averted").

As the American people gradually turn on him, Jackson takes stock of all that he has lost: his family, his wife, and now the love of the American public. He decides he must take ultimate responsibility for the nation's choices and declares that he alone will be the one to make the unenviable policy decisions regarding the Indians' fate ("The Saddest Song"). He summons Black Fox—an Indian Chief who organized the remaining Indian tribes into a confederation against Tennessee settlers—in order to make one last deal with the Native Americans still living in American Territories. Jackson implores Black Fox to peacefully move his people west of the Mississippi River. Black Fox asks for time to consult his tribe. But, Jackson violently snaps and decrees that federal troops will forcibly move the Indians West.

Near the end, the musical reviews Jackson's legacy and the views attributed to him. Some believe he was one of America's greatest presidents, while others believe him to be an "American Hitler". The final scene shows Jackson receiving an honorary doctorate at Harvard. He reflects upon his achievements and his questionable decisions. The show telescopes out and we get a bird's-eye view of Jackson's damning legacy and our collective culpability ("Second Nature").

Finally, the company gathers to sing "The Hunters of Kentucky", before taking their bows.

• "Populism, Yea, Yea!" – Company
• "I’m Not That Guy" – Andrew Jackson
• "Illness As Metaphor" – Andrew Jackson, Rachel Jackson, James Monroe, & Bandleader
• "I’m So That Guy" – Andrew Jackson & Company
• "Ten Little Indians" – Female Soloist & Female Ensemble
• "The Corrupt Bargain" – Female Ensemble (Toula, Elizabeth, & Naomi), John C. Calhoun, John Quincy Adams, & Henry Clay
• "Rock Star" – Male Soloist, Andrew Jackson, & Company
• "The Great Compromise" – Rachel Jackson
• "Public Life" – Andrew Jackson & Company
• "Crisis Averted" – Male Soloist & Bandleader
• "The Saddest Song" – Andrew Jackson & Company
• "Second Nature" – Bandleader
• "The Hunters of Kentucky" – Bandleader & Company

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson received mostly positive to mixed reviews. The New York Daily News called it "bloody entertaining" and Benjamin Walker "magnetic and energetic," applauding the show for its lightweight and silly atmosphere.[16]

Terry Teachout of The Wall Street Journal appraised it thus: "Comically speaking, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson is a one-joke show that gets three-quarters of its laughs from hearing 19th-century characters use 21st-century slang. Politically speaking, it's little more than an ultra-predictable mashup of Howard Zinn and Dances With Wolves (white people bad, red people good)… Michael Friedman's hard-edged, guitar-driven score is, however, another story. The music is tuneful, [and] the lyrics are honest-to-God smart."[17]

Ben Brantley of The New York Times noted: "There's not a show in town that more astutely reflects the state of this nation than Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson… both smarter and cruder than your average Broadway fare";[18] whereas fellow Times critic Charles Isherwood said the musical "taps most directly into the vein of snarky post-collegiate humor epitomized by The Daily Show and The Colbert Report… and panders cheerfully to the taste for ribald humor that is a primary ingredient in the more frat-boyish elements of late-night comedy."[19]

A San Francisco critic of that city's production, however, referred to the musical as "an unmistakable exercise in American self-loathing,"[20] while Power Line blog critic Scott Johnson of Minneapolis–St. Paul termed the play in retrospect "the worst thing I'd ever seen performed on a stage, bar none… extraordinarily unfunny."[21]

• Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson Official Website
• Internet Broadway database listing
• Internet Off-Broadway Database listing
• Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at the Music Theatre International website
• Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at Know Theatre