Democracy

In the presidential society of Washington in the spring of 1875, two beautiful American women are courted by two dashing American men

Madelaine Lee, a wealthy widow from New York, and Esther Dudley, an agnostic photographer from Washington, are pursued by Silas Raitcliffe, Senator from Illinois and candidate for the presidency

And also by the Reverend Stephen Hazard, a handsome charismatic Episcopal priest whose spellbinding oratory packs his church

Around them move Baron Jacobi, the cynical Bulgarian Ambassador

Esther's unmarried Aunt Lydia, who played at the feet of George Washington when she was a child

Mrs Essy Barker, an outrageous female lobbyist

And the President and his wife, the world-famous Grants themselves - innocent, blundering and touching

The two women must decide whether to marry the two men, knowing they will also marry what their men believe, about America, about religion, about final truth and untruth

Their courageous decisions, in two highly charged scenes, are the same - they will not marry men whose fundamental beliefs they cannot share

Henry Adams' comic vision of American democracy is scathing, passionate, and funny

And in the deepest and best sense, loyal to his country

Taken from two novels by Henry Adams, and the administration of Ulysses S. Grant, this skillfully theatrical adaptation mixes Adams' tales of love and ambition in Washington with scandals from the Grant administration in a manner at once sardonic and knowing, yet affectionate

REVIEWS

" the play abounds with laugh-provoking observations" ~ Milwaukee Sentinel

" a thoughtful piece built solidly on history " ~ Richmond Times-Dispatch

" as timely as the headlines coming from Washington these days" ~ Richmond News Leader