Two Character Programs
Each of the characters, in the following programs, has a solo show as well:
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson: We Disagree as Rational Friends
A meeting and debate between the two founding fathers: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Their discussions center on topics relevant to their day and to ours: authority in government, the original meanings in the Constitution, the employment of power by the federal government, the uses and mis-uses of political parties, and much more!
Grades/age levels: high, college, and all adult audiences including Continuing Legal Education seminars
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson differ on a wide range of timeless subjects including the uses and misuses of political parties.
Adams and Jefferson respond to a question about what they liked and disliked about the unamended US Constitution when they first read it in 1787.
Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson debate national issues that are as important today as they were 200 years ago.
Humor and history mix as Hamilton and Jefferson exchange reasoned arguments and razor sharp barbs in a context that allows your audience to enjoy the experience of education.
Middle school students across the country participate in the Constitutional conversation when Hamilton and Jefferson include them in audience-participation based programming.
A meeting and debate between the two most controversial founding fathers, Jefferson and Hamilton, in which discussions center on the topics most relevant to their day and to ours: State versus Federal Authority in Government, The Framing of the Constitution and its interpretation, the establishment of the First National Bank and its constitutionality, and the people’s voice in government.
The differing viewpoints between Jefferson and Hamilton’s about the success or failure of the Articles of Confederation and the proper foundations of a new government foreshadow the establishment of our two-party system. Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson Interpreters engage in a lively debate that exposes and explains the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and illuminates the impetus behind the move toward a Constitutional Congress and the resultant drafting of the Constitution. The program examines the need for balance between state’s rights and a centralized government while giving audiences a taste of what the negotiations were really like. Throughout the program we come to see how the relationships between key figures, and the need for compromise, between two opposing factions resulted in the development of the imperfect, but ever evolving, government we have today.
Grades/age levels: middle school, high school, college, and adult audiences
George and Martha Washington: “In Perfect Felicity”
Description: What makes a good marriage? George and Martha Washington shared 40 years of married life together. They supported each other through the trials of the War for Independence, as well as the tribulations of their new roles as President and First Lady. Experience the vibrancy of the Washingtons and the depth of their commitment to each other, as they voice their struggles to balance home and politics, family and duty.
Grades: Middle School or High School
John and Abigail Adams: For the Liberal Education of Youth
John and Abigail Adams shared power, opinions, and mutual affection throughout their long marriage that spanned the formation of the United States.
Braintree, MA, Winter 1778: John Adams has just been appointed to serve as one of several American Ministers to the French Court. John Quincy Adams (Johnny) is 11 years old and has begged his father to allow him to make the trip as well. Abigail and her husband are helping with the packing for their son’s first voyage away from home. As they look over books, toys, and clothing, they are reminded of their life as a family over the past 14 years. During much of that time, John Adams has, in one way or another, been engaged in the politics of American Independence. Although he has been away from home, he has remained involved in the events of the family through constant letter writing. John and Abigail engage in a conversation that includes topics such as their courtship, early years of marriage, and the children’s educations. This is inevitably tied together with the political issues that compelled Thirteen American Colonies to a Declaration of Independence from the British Crown, and the Adams’ hopes for the future of their children in the New United States.
Grades: Middle and High School
Mutual affection and respect permeate even the political conversations between John and Abigail Adams.
John and Abigail Adams: A Union of Hearts and Minds
Abigail Adams (Kim Hanley) and John Adams (Peyton Dixon)
New York: Fall of 1790: John Adams has recently returned from Philadelphia, with prospects on a place for the Adams to live in during Adams’ vice presidency. In the midst of packing, Abigail is still reticent to leave New York and Richmond Hill for Bush Hill in Philadelphia—or to remove herself further from their home “Peacefield” in Quincy, MA. In this conversation, they discuss the important issues of the early years of the United States, and the difficulties involved in beginning a New Nation including the National Assumption of States’ Debts as well as the location of the US Capitol. John and Abigail Adams have been involved in American Politics for most of their married lives. Their 4 children have grown up during the Revolutionary War and founding eras and are now beginning careers and families of their own. As always, the Adams’ main concern is for the continued Independence for their Nation and for their Children to hold responsible places in its future.
Grades: High School
John and Abigail Adams: Dearest Friends
Peacefield, Quincy, MA: Sometime after the election of 1800: As Abigail Adams is welcoming guests to her home, she is interrupted by her husband, former President of the United States, John Adams. Although he intends to continue his paperwork, the president can’t help but interject his recollections into his wife’s telling of the family history. This charming conversation follows the Adams throughout the struggle for American Independence including their time in Europe, and finally to the Foundation of a new American Government. The Adams recount their long but necessary separations while John was away on Government business, as well as Abigail’s resourcefulness in keeping the family economy in good stead while seeing to the education of the children. Their discussion evokes images of the early years of the American Government and looks back on their experiences in the first three Capital cities, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington. Free from the shackles of Public life, the Adams both speak freely about their observations and opinions on the momentous events that brought Thirteen Colonies from Revolutionary over one government, through two successful transitions of Executive Elections, to an enduring Nation.
Grades: High School
This conversation —custom tailored for the US National Archives— shows the chemistry that John and Abigail Adams share in all of their presentations together, whether they be virtual or in-person.
We Disagreed as Rational Friends: The Politics and Friendship of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson
In this unique collaboration, John Adams (Peyton Dixon) meets with one of his greater friends and challenges, fellow representative, vice-president, president and patriot Thomas Jefferson (Steve Edenbo). Their teamwork, friendship, rivalry, and finally renewed friendship, is perhaps the most famous relationship between two Presidents of the United States. From their work in 1776 for independence (and America’s Declaration) to their labors in France, Holland and England as ambassadors, these men fought for support and respect of a fledgling America. As they rose to new positions in their country’s government, their differing opinions and approaches to governing initiated cracks in their camaraderie that would grow wider amid negative election campaigns. Yet after a 13 year silence, they once again picked up their pens to resume their discussions, ranging from government to farming, and spanned a globe’s worth of knowledge in a peerless letter exchange. When these two founders died on the same day–July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence–their partnership became the stuff of legend.
Witness Adams and Jefferson in their prime, more men than legends, as they recall their decades-long association, and discuss some of their greatest battles–some side-by-side, some against each other– through their trials and triumphs, and discover how these two men maintained friendship with, and respect for one another, as a nation unlike any other began.
Grades: Middle and High School
William Clark and Meriwether Lewis: Leadership and the Corps of Discovery
The interplay between the two distinct personalities of the Captains, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, made them a leadership team unsurpassed in American history. Those same differences in personality combine as the ingredients for an entertaining stage performance that mixes humor with facts and allows audiences of all ages to truly enjoy this educational experience. Adventure, danger and incredible hardships faced these brave men and their team as they made their trek in the Corps of Discovery. Hear their stories and learn how they faced it all with remarkable calmness.
When performing for audiences that include children, the Captains call audience members on stage to take part in the fun. Every presentation ends with a question & answer session, allowing the audience to lead the conversation in the direction of their own choosing.
Grades: 5 and up (may be adapted for slightly younger children)
Abraham Lincoln and Harriet Beecher Stowe:
So You are the little woman that wrote the Book that started this great war…
In 1862, Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, traveled to Washington D.C. to have a chat with Abraham Lincoln. She wanted to be certain tnat the rumors she had heard about the Emancipation Proclamation were true. Bob Gleason and Kin Hanley portray Lincoln and Stowe, This charming and informative presentation hints at the many things that may have been discussed during this historic meeting.
Grades: Middle School and up - Civil War knowledge a prerequisite.
Martha Washington and Abigail Adams: First Ladies First!
Martha Washington and Abigail Adams may be two of the most prominent women involved in the founding years of the United States. They served as the first two First Ladies of the Nation. Each was brought up with very different experiences, and they had very different ways of engaging the public, the Government, and in particular, their Husbands, but each had the same goal: To place the new United States in a glowing light as a new republic that they hoped would endure for ages to come.
This program explores how their different experiences and shared values would shape the role of the First Lady of the United States.
Grades: 4th Grade and up. Revolutionary War knowledge is a plus but not necessary.
My Dear Mrs. Lincoln
My Dear Mrs. Lincoln is a glowing exploration into the life of American’s most provocative First Lady, Mary Todd Lincoln, and her relationship with President Abraham Lincoln during the 1860s. This play moves beyond Mary’s traditional role as First Lady and confronts the audience with an intimate view of the First Couple’s trials and tribulations as they look back over the events of their tenure in the White House. Spend an evening with the Lincolns and feel the deep suffering in the hearts of both husband and wife, as they deal with Mary’s depression over the death of their two children, and observe the erratic way she copes. Appreciate Abe’s classic humor as he attempts to stem the tide of war and mitigate the constant strain on his family and his marriage.
The Belle & the Backwoodsman
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM & MARY TODD LINCOLN
President Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, invite you to share some humorous and touching stories about their early lives, their marriage and children, the years of political struggle, the Presidential years, and the War Between the States. Born into two very different Kentucky families and with two very different backgrounds, Abraham worked hard to rise above a childhood of poverty and lack of education in Hodgenville, while Mary Todd came into a world of wealth and privilege in Lexington. When they met, however, Mary recognized Abraham as the man who would bring to fruition her childhood dream of living in the White House. And Abraham saw in Mary a woman whose drive and energy might take him there as well. Abraham and Mary’s stories will touch, enchant and inform you as they reminisce about their lives. Please join them!