It redefines Andrew Jackson, America's seventh President, as an emo rock star and focuses on populism, the Indian Removal Act, and his relationship with his wife Rachel.
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.
They bond over a shared habit of self-harm, playing on emo music's frequent glorification of pain, and reference Illness as Metaphor by Susan Sontag as a way to ground their fantasies.
Jackson rebuffs their pleas, explaining how he has driven out the French and the Spanish, while acquiring more land than Thomas Jefferson.
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.
During the presidential election of 1828, Andrew Jackson becomes a surprise candidate and mocks the others for not being able to handle the pressure of politics ("Rock Star").
Once in office, Jackson is faced with a plethora of problems, ranging from the National Bank to questions about Indian relocation.
But, as the problems grow tougher, the public begins to resent being asked to make difficult decisions ("Crisis Averted").
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").
Black Fox asks for time to consult his tribe, but Jackson violently snaps and decrees that federal troops will forcibly move the Indians west, leading to thousands of deaths along the Trail of Tears.
The show then offers a more modern view of Jackson's damning legacy and American society's collective culpability in shaping a new country at the expense of the native population ("Second Nature").
The cast included Sebastian Arcelus, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Kevin Del Aguila, Darren Goldstein, Greg Hildreth, Jeff Hiller, Adam O'Byrne, Maria Elena Ramirez, Kate Roberts, Jeanine Serralles, Ben Steinfeld, Robbie Sublett, Ian Unterman, and Ben Walker.
[2] The cast included River Alexander, David Axelrod, James Barry, Darren Goldstein, Greg Hildreth, Jeff Hiller, Lisa Joyce, Lucas Near-Verbrugghe, Bryce Pinkham, Maria Elena Ramirez, Kate Roberts, Ben Steinfeld, Ben Walker, Matthew Rocheleau and Colleen Werthmann.
[3][4][5] The show premiered on Broadway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, with previews starting on September 21, 2010, and opening night October 13, 2010.
The play, which cost $4.5 million to produce, "will close at a loss to investors," said The New York Times, which characterized it as "a favorite of critics that has had trouble catching on with theatergoers.
Produced by BTW Productions and directed by Adam Graham with choreography by Michelle Alagna and musical direction by Brandon Fender, the cast included A. Ross Neal as Andrew Jackson, Jacqueline Torgas as Rachel Jackson, Anitra Pritchard-Bryant as the Storyteller and featured the band Hey, Angeline led by Anthony Smith as the Band Leader.
The New York Daily News called it "bloody entertaining" and Benjamin Walker "magnetic and energetic," applauding the show for its lightweight and silly atmosphere.
"[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.