‘Jefferson and Adams’

Actors’ NET offers a glimpse into the lives of two of the country’s founding fathers.

By: Stuart Duncan
   Jefferson and Adams is a brilliantly literate work that may teach you more about American history than any course yet devised by professors.
   Culled principally from letters between the two men plus Adams’ writings to his wife, Abigail, Howard Ginsberg has fashioned a play that introduces two of the country’s most important founding fathers — the second and third presidents, bitter rivals in public and fast friends in life. The work is being presented by Actors’ NET of Bucks County at its home at the Heritage Center in Morrisville, Pa. You are hereby warned that seating is limited.
   Playwright Ginsberg makes full use of the dramatic chronology of the men’s lives. He begins the evening with both men on their deathbeds, 500 miles apart, on July 4, 1826, exactly 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He then further divides the evening into two equal 25-year segments — Act I through 1801, which completes Adams’ presidency — and Act II, which begins with Jefferson’s election and ends on the day both men died.
   His work, as noted, is taken directly from the writings of the two, and therefore is much more formal than conversation today. It is also more mannerly, more complimentary, even, at times, poetic.
   The play has only the three characters mentioned — Jefferson, Adams and Abigail Adams. Moreover, this is not the "Dear, Dear Abigail" of 1776, the musical. Rather, this is "My Dear Mrs. Adams" and, in return, "My Dear Mr. Adams."
   Passion, it would seem, was reserved for topics such as politics and religion. Jefferson professed to be an atheist; Adams was a churchgoer and a firm believer in a hereafter. There is some evidence, however, that the former might be duplicitous: "I have sworn upon the altar of God," he wrote, "eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." And he was not averse to writing to Adams: "I pray that the hand of time and providence will rise gently upon you."
   The Actors’ NET revival has Todd Reichart as Jefferson and Joe Doyle as Adams. K.T. Tomlinson is Abigail, but the script severely limits her appearances. Doyle has also directed and, except for a few scenes that could use a faster pace, the evening speeds along. We are given notice of the loss of children, wives lost and missed. But events transcribed in letters take on little spontaneity. A.R. Gurney could achieve it in Love Letters; the men of the 19th century were less capable.
   Once again, Actors’ NET impresses by the breathtaking breadth of its schedule. Next month begins what is being titled The Toga Trilogy — George Bernard Shaw’s witty Caesar and Cleopatra, followed in succeeding months by Shakespeare’s Anthony and Cleopatra and the devastatingly funny musical, A Funny Think Happened on the Way to the Forum. The smart theatergoers are already making reservations.
Jefferson and Adams continues at the Heritage Center, 635 N. Delmorr Ave., Morrisville, Pa., through Feb. 2. Performances: Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 6 p.m. Tickets cost $12. For information, call (215) 295-3694. On the Web: www.actorsnetbucks.org