Presidents' Day

Being the leader of the free world comes with a price.  It means that you get to be the subject of theatrical endeavors.  Well, political leaders have long been a staple of the theatre - the Greeks, the Romans, Shakespeare.

So, in honor of Presidents' Day -  a short and non-comprehensive list

Plays:

Sunrise at Campobello - FDR (also a film)

Abe Lincoln in Illinois - Lincoln (also a film)

Frost/Nixon - Nixon (also a film)

44 Plays for 44 Presidents - a little bit about all of them

The Best Man  - fictional presidential election (also a film)

State of the Union - presidential campaign (also a film with Hepburn/Tracy)

Musicals:

I'd Rather Be Right - FDR
   Here's James Cagney as George M. Cohan as FDR: (and we'll just ignore that dancing like this is not historically accurate - see Sunrise at Campobello)

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson - Andrew Jackson

Call Me Madam - well, not about a President - but it does have the song "They Like Ike"

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue - A failed Alan Jay Lerner/Leonard Bernstein musical.  Bernstein refused to permit a cast recording!

Of Thee I Sing - a mythical love story set in a presidential election

Annie - FDR makes an appearance in Act II for "A New Deal for Christmas"

1776 - does feature John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and letters from George Washington

Hamilton - also featuring the first few presidents, Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison

and, there was a little Sondheim musical about some people who had a different connection to the Presidents of the United States.  The cast of the revival performed on the 2004 Tony Awards: