“Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” with book and direction by Alex Timbers and music and lyrics by Michael Friedman, took the stage at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre for its opening last night, October 13.
The emo-rock musical satire arrives on the Great White Way via Off-Broadway’s Public Theatre, where it ran in 2009 and again in 2010, and became the playhouse’s second highest grossing production ever. The creative team and much of the original cast from that production has been retained for this Main Stem transplant.
Reprising the role he originated with the show’s 2008 Los Angeles premier, leading man Benjamin Walker offers a re-imagined version of President Andrew Jackson, who came entered office in the election of 1828. Walker’s take on Jackson is equal parts charismatic rock star and petulant child as he leads the cast — including Kristine Nielsen as The Storyteller, and Darren Goldstein as Calhoun, among others — in an anachronistic and ahistoric retelling of our notorious seventh president’s life and term in office.
Three full weeks of previews began September 20, with capacity in the 1,078-seat Jacobs Theatre increasing from 67 percent to 84 percent during that time. Regular ticket prices range from $50 to $130, with premium seats priced from $170 to $250 for select performances. Gross ticket sales totaled $290,378 for the week ending October 10 for an overall total of $856,480, according to numbers from the Broadway League.
Performances of “Andrew Jackson” are scheduled Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 7 p.m.; Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 2 and 7 p.m.
The 1,030 seat Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre is located at 242 West 45th Street in New York, NY. “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” runs 90 minutes without intermission. Scheduling and ticketing details are available on the production’s official Web site.
Opening Night: “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson”
| Publication | Critic | Review |
| Variety | Steve Suskin | “Bloody-good… A production that soars along like a carnival ride.” |
| New York Times | Ben Brantley | “‘Bloody Bloody’ is both smarter and cruder than your average Broadway fare.” |
| Hollywood Reporter | Frank Scheck | “‘Jackson’ is unlikely to attract anyone other than college students looking for an easily digestible history lesson.” |
| TheaterMania | Brian Scott Lipton | “[The] striking Benjamin Walker…possesses a perfect blend of rock-star charisma and little-boy vulnerability.” |
| New York Daily News | Joe Dziemianowicz | “Cranked-up silliness…is the name of the game in this offbeat and spirited pop-rock musical.” |
| Entertainment Weekly | Simon Vozick-Levinson | “‘Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson’ has to be the year’s strangest Broadway show. It is also quite possibly the most awesome.” |
