JQA by Aaron Posner

Subtitled “A Series of Fictitious Encounters Between President John Quincy Adams and Sundry Family Members and Political Associates On the subjects of Life, Liberty, and Government,” this show starts off being somewhat... cute. In the first scene, John Quincy's father gives him a lecture on the nature of government as an extremely roundabout way of chastising him for setting the cat on fire. There is clearly amusement in putting phrases like “it'd tickle my testicles to no end” in the mouths of historical figures. However, about midway through the show, Andrew Jackson appears as a not-so-subtle parallel to Trump and the humor vanishes. As the show continues in a more serious vein, it tackles slavery and privilege and sacrifice. While it is relatively engaging throughout, I am ultimately uncertain what the intention of the show is. Are we trying to engage specifically with the issues John Quincy Adams faced? Are we intended to draw out the parallels to our current circumstances and find hope in the ending? Or is this educational entertainment? If it were all those things simultaneously, that would be quite a feat, but it feels more like it takes turns being each one at a time.