American Presidents Attend the Theatre: The Playgoing Experiences of Each Chief Executive

by Thomas A. Bogar

Overview

Not every presidential visit to the theatre is as famous as Lincoln's last night at Ford's, but American presidents attended the theatre long before and long after that ill-fated night. In 1751, George Washington saw his first play, The London Merchant, during a visit to Barbados. John Quincy Adams published dramatic critiques. William McKinley avoided the theatre while in office, on professional as well as moral grounds. Richard Nixon met his wife at a community theatre audition. Surveying 255 years, this volume examines presidential theatre-going as it has reflected shifting popular tastes in America.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786442324
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	09/24/2009
Pages:	441
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Thomas A. Bogar is a professor at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland, a judge for Washington, D.C.’s Helen Hayes Theatre Awards, and a consultant for the American Council on Education. He has written numerous journal articles and lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
Preface     

1. Washington (1751–1782)     
2. The Adamses and Jefferson Abroad (1778–1788)     
3. Independence (1784–1799)     
4. A New Capital (1800–1817)     
5. Good Feelings, Bad Feelings (1817–1833)     
6. The New National Theatre (1834–1844)     
7. Unquiet Times (1845–1860)     
8. Lincoln (1861–1863)     
9. Opera, Forrest, and the Booths (1864–1865)     
10. Aftermath (1865–1874)     
11. The Gilded Age (1874–1881)     
12. A Social White House (1881–1885)     
13. Marriages (1885–1889)     
14. The Rise of Realism (1889–1892)     
15. The Turn of the Century (1893–1901)     
16. TR (1901–1909)     
17. Taft (1909–1910)     
18. Offstage Drama (1910–1913)     
19. Vaudeville (1913–1915)     
20. Enter Edith (1915–1917)     
21. Victory (1918–1921)     
22. Jazz (1921–1924)     
23. Boom and Bust (1924–1933)     
24. Recovery (1933–1940)     
25. Theatre of War (1941–1949)     
26. Cold War Theatre (1950–1961)     
27. Camelot (1961–1964)     
28. Protest (1965–1974)     
29. Vicissitudes (1974–1980)     
30. An Actor in the White House (1981–1992)     
31. Fundraisers and Family (1993–2005)     

Afterword     
Chapter Notes     
Bibliography     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

a good job...scholarly”—ARBA; “fascinating...highly readable, enjoyable”—Sea Classics; “fascinating”—HillRag; “the most fascinating read of any theater book to cross our desks this year...enlightening”—Potomac Stages.

From the Publisher

fascinating

HillRag

fascinating...highly readable, enjoyable

Sea Classics

a good job...scholarly

ARBA