#bloody bloody andrew jackson

2010′s Musical Thoughts #4- Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson opened on Broadway on October 13th, 2010 and is an emo rock musical by Alex Timbers and the tragically late Michael Friedman centered around the controversial career of America’s 7th president, Andrew Jackson. Every shitty thing this man did (like starting the Trail of Tears and consolidating Executive Power) is here, presented in a mid-2000s Hot Topic aesthetic. This is such a sensitive topic to handle in such an odd way, but BBAJ miraculously dances around any potential problems. The show truly shines in how self aware it is. The lyrics combine historical facts and jokes with shitty punk wannabe tropes you thought were cool in middle school (nobody understands me) to show how cool everyone thought they were. Despite Andrew Jackson being the center character of the piece, the show does not sympathize with him in the least bit. Even when his wife dies, the moments that would’ve been sympathetic in any other musical (such as the aptly named “The Saddest Song”) show Jackson becoming even more of a douche. The sharp writing helps to vilify Jackson and other characters by making their actions seem cool by making the cast react enthusiastically to horrible actions. This level of sarcastic wit is something I’ve never seen handled this well in a show. And in the central role of Andrew Jackson himself, Benjamin Walker has no equal. He personifies the cartoon psychopathic narcissist that Jackson was always meant to be portrayed as. This musical sadly never got the respect it deserved while it was on Broadway (ahead of its time maybe?), but its spirit lives on as an inspiration for another musical that mixes US History with unconventional music genres.