Bloody Bloody

The Public Theater is really a great institution. They've given me two of my absolute favorite New York moments- Hair and Twelfth Night. They also offer up a season summer play festival (SPF) which has $10 plays by first time playwrights. I've been to two of those as well and they were actually decent. Most recently, I went to see Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, which has a great write up- Old Hickory, Rock Star President (NYT).

Bloody Bloody is a political emo-rock musical. If you don't know what that means, neither do I. This was a mash up of political comedy, slap stick randomness, rock show and solemn lecture on the dangers of populism. The political is personal and we sing about it. At one point, Andrew Jackson and his wife Rachel smear blood on each other in a 19th century riff on illness=love metaphor.

So it was weird, but in an enjoyable way. The cast were slick and confident, the music was solid, the points were well made. And it made me laugh.