New York Theater: Only four of the 45 presidents of the United States were born in February, but they include the two most revered, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, who are also the two most frequently depicted on Broadway. Both are in shows currently. The other two February presidents, Ronald Reagan and even William Henry Harrison, have also been on Broadway.
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Well, I’ve never laughed as hard in a theatre as when I saw Oh, Mary! (and I’ve also never heard an audience that loud in a theatre before), so there’s something to be said about “unfavorable” productions. Even with all their wild historical inaccuracies or less than favorable portrayals (although is Mary’s Husband really the villain in that one?) I feel like plays and musicals that feature presidents always have a huge sense of reverence about them, and Oh Mary! made a satirical take on the history of the American presidency relevant and beloved across a whole generation (and probably outside of just one generation too). Presidential cameos in shows like Annie and Newsies always take me out a little, because here we are watching this fictional story about fictional characters and oh look we’re in the White House talking about real people and real governments. Stories that are strictly about the government aren’t like that to me (Hamilton, Oh Mary!).
I found this article really interesting. I did not expect to see this distribution of presidents. It honestly makes sense though. I expected to see more modern presidents, however the two presidents with the most features are George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. There is another good chunk of older presidents that are in Hamilton. On Broadway currently, Oh Mary stars Abraham Lincoln and the former first lady Mary Todd Lincoln, and Hamilton stars George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. These are the recent shows where presidents have had major roles. There have been a few other shows where presidents just make appearances. I think it is really interesting to see how presidents are depicted on Broadway. Clear political stances are usually never made on them. This does make sense though, as in this age it is getting harder and harder to profit on Broadway so shows try to cater to a large audience.
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