Review Roundup: BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON at Mad Horse Theatre

BLOODY BLOODY Andrew Jackson runs at Mad Horse Theatre through October 15. This riotous rock musical is a satirical, comedic mash-up of American history that follows Andrew Jackson from his childhood on the wild frontier to his controversial Presidency. With the country divided into rich and poor, and continued skirmishes with Native Americans upsetting the New World, Jackson begins his steady climb from military strategist to populist rabble-rouser to President of the United States-and rocks like no political figure has ever rocked before.

BLOODY BLOODY Andrew Jackson has a book by Alex Timbers and music and lyrics by Michael Friedman.

The show stars Ryan Walker as Andrew Jackson, Darby DeFilippis as Lyncoya, Christine Marshall as Storyteller, Allison McCall as Rachel, Adam Ferguson as John Calhoun, Meredythe Dehne Lindsey as Henry Clay, Michael Shawn Lynch as Martin Van Buren, and Dominic Wolfgang Wallace as Black Fox. The cast also includes BrenDan Daly, Amanda Easton, Shannon Oliver, Mike O'Neal, Mark Rubin, and Megan Tripaldi.

BLOODY BLOODY Andrew Jackson is directed by Stacey Koloski, with musical direction by Mike O'Neal, set design by Matthew Ferrel, lighting design by Corey Anderson, sound design by Jake Cote, and costume design by Grace Fosler.

Let's see what the critics had to say!

Steve Feeney, The Press Herald: Walker generates the charisma required of his role and balances Jackson's pained view of his destiny with touches of sensitivity rooted in his personal life. His singing and acting command attention as he becomes the man at the center of a whirlwind of historical events, a character to be both drawn to and repulsed by, giving an edge to his strong performance... Amanda Eaton, Adam Ferguson, Meredythe Dehne Lindsey, Michael Shawn Lynch, Mark Rubin, Megan Tripaldi and Dominic Wolfgang Wallace shine in multiple roles while Christine Louise Marshall, as a diehard narrator, and Darby DeFilippis, as Jackson's adopted Native American son, share scene-stealing honors.

Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold, BroadwayWorld: Stacey Koloski directs the relatively large ensemble with an urgency and intensity that is infectious. The cast fills the space, executing her vibrant musical staging and Benn May's choreography and fight sequences with intense energy. The simple set by Matthew Ferrel (Hollye Seddon, props) is enhanced by the punk-rock lighting (no small feat in this house with few instruments and limited technical capabilities, and Jake Cote makes the tiny house alive with sound. Grace Fosler supplies the minimalistic, often amusingly evocative costumes which tie present to past.

Judy Harrison, Bangor Daily News Maine: The ensemble cast gives insightful performances, swirling around Ryan Walker's charismatic Jackson like ribbons being wrapped around and tightened on a maypole... Director Stacey Koloski pushes the cast to move at a frenetic pace that rarely lets up. The score is rowdy and raucous and so is her cast. Mad Horse's tiny stage can barely hold the action but that makes "Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson" the kind of in-your-face theater few other companies in Maine are bold enough to stage.

Photo: Mad Horse Theatre

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