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| Logan Scott Mitchell in rehearsals for Arizona Regional Theatre's Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson photo courtesy JALT Media |
Long before Alexander Hamilton got his shot at having his life turned into an award-winning Broadway musical, the story of another historical political figure, Andrew Jackson, was musicalized in the satirical rock musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. This high-energy show mixes history with satire and a punk rock score to depict the controversial life of the seventh president of the United States.
Logan Scott Mitchell, who plays Jackson in Arizona Regional Theatre's production of the show which opens this Friday, has been seen in dozens of shows in town, including eleven productions at the Phoenix Theatre Company, including appearing in the ensemble of their 2013 Phoenix premiere production of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.
Mitchell sat down to talk about the musical, Jackson and why he thinks the show is relevant today in our current political climate.
For someone who isn't aware of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, what would you tell them the show is about?
"In one sentence, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson is a very dark comedy about the life and times of Andrew Jackson told as if he were a whiny emo wannabe rock star. The musical starts with his childhood, ends with his death, and covers his career in politics- most notably as the president responsible for the Trail of Tears. It’s got a lot of insensitive jokes, F-bombs, and blood!
The show tries to tackle a lot of the really really reallllllllly horrible things he did throughout his life through a comedic lens. It doesn’t try to diminish what he did, but rather tries to present the horrors of what happened in a palatable way in the hopes that the audience will walk away recognizing just how dark much of our past behavior as a country is. But we want you to be laughing while you recognize that.
It is very much a political satire. It has been compared to SNL and South Park in its style of humor which I think is a pretty accurate description. There is ALL the foul language ALL the time, and literally nothing is off the table of being made fun of. So… if insensitive and remarkably offensive jokes aren’t your thing… this is definitely not the show for you!"
Why did you want to play Jackson?
"I am not the type of actor who is likely to be cast as a villain very often, and I couldn’t say no to the chance at being someone so evil! I had done the show before when The Phoenix Theatre Company did it back in 2013 as an ensemble member, and knew how much I loved the book, music, and the deeper themes it was examining. I am very political, and very opposed to basically everything Jackson stands for, and so it’s been an amazing and challenging opportunity to embody him as an actor. It’s definitely a once in a lifetime experience! Plus who doesn’t want to wear tight tight jeans and pour blood all over themselves?! "
What kind of research did you do to prepare to play this historical figure?
"Well in the musical the character of Jackson is in no way trying to be an impersonation of the historical figure, so most of the research I did was actually on emo rock singers and how they behave while they’re singing.
With that in mind, one thing that made me angry in my research, however, was seeing how positively Jackson is portrayed in history. For example, the Trail of Tears was mentioned as a 'controversial decision' of his on biography.com. To me, there’s nothing controversial about his racism and willingness to completely dehumanize and attempt to relocate an entire community of indigenous people, which was tantamount to genocide at the time.
Perhaps the most angering thing I discovered in my research, however, was discovering that the official White House biography of Jackson doesn’t even mention the Trail of Tears. At ALL. That infuriated me.
If anything, my research helped me recognize how important telling this story is, as I don’t think people realize just how terrible he was, even if he did found the Democratic Party (which looked a whole lot different back then from what it looks like now). I wish the narrative we were teaching to our children was an honest one, and I don’t think we’re there yet."
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| Logan Scott Mitchell and cast in rehearsals for Arizona Regional Theatre's Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson photo courtesy JALT Media |
"I had already done the show before, so nothing stood out to me this time around, but when I first did the show I was a senior in high school, and I remember being shocked by just how inaccurate my conceptions of our founding fathers had been."
Jackson was considered by many people to be a hero, while others saw him as a genocidal murderer. What is your view on him?
"Hahahahaha. I’m laughing because you can probably tell by now what I think of him. Sure, he maybe did a couple good things in his life, but the vast majority of his life was driven by unquestionable hatred, greed, and ignorance. He was unequivocally a monster. I think the people who see him as a hero need to think long and hard about their own understanding of him, and their own values as well."
How do you think the play reflects what we're experiencing at the moment in our political environment?
"I think this show, written before the 2016 election, has never been more relevant. America has a bad habit of being enchanted by angry, hateful, and ignorant men who capitalize on people’s desire for change and somehow worm their way into positions of political power. I don’t think the parallels between Jackson’s presidency and what we’re experiencing now are a coincidence."
This show wasn't a bit hit in its original run on Broadway. The reviews were somewhat divisive and the irreverence of the show seemed to speak to some people while others were turned off by it. What do you hope audiences who see this production will take away from it?
"I hope the audience will get a look at who Jackson really was, hopefully learning something new, but all while laughing their ass off. I think this musical is a testament to why we shouldn’t be glorifying Jackson, and I hope everyone who sees it will agree!"
CLICK HERE for more information on Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at Arizona Regional Theatre, which runs October 18-27
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