I saw Anjali!

in a new musical called "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson." It's an emo-rock, slightly absurdist look at our seventh President. It was presented by Center Theatre Group, the premier theatre company in Los Angeles. So: big-time show, but also hip and edgy.

I can't believe it, it doesn't seem like it could possibly be right, but we hadn't seen each other since winter 1991, when Jodie and I visited Foothill during our first winter break from Stanford. Sixteen years.

But we found each other again somehow and had email addresses, so a few weeks ago she emailed me ("I forgot you lived in LA until I got your Christmas card forwarded from my NY apartment") that she would be here, performing in "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" until it closed on Feb. 17, then she would be going back to NYC. Of course, we had to get together and somehow the only way that would work is if I came to her show. (aside: huh? )
She has been in LA for six months, living at her parents' house in Tustin, because she has a recurring role on the TV show Shark. Then the strike happened.

Anyway, she happened to email me with this news just a few days after I finally decided NOT to renew my subscription to Backstage. It's really expensive, and I don't see myself doing a show for a while, realistically. So being faced with Anjali's successful career at the same time that I had to face that my hobby (because I decided long ago that I did not want to try for a career) is on temporary hold was interesting timing. After a bunch of introspective days, I am reaffirmed that my decision was the right one for me, as well as that Anjali's was the inevitable, right one for her. And I am SO, SO proud of her! I think we all could see back in high school that there would be no stopping her drive!

So, the show "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" was interesting. It was certainly new and different and edgy. I felt that there were things that really worked and things that didn't so much. It was like the quiet kid in the corner of high school class, with his black hair and Doc Martens and writing scratched all over his skin, is underneath it all a musical genius and a history buff and wrote a show about the life of Andrew Jackson, in which he is obsessed with blood and violence and destroying the Indians, and then grows up to overthrow the New England aristocratic ruling class and found the Democratic Party and is the country's first Rock Star. Quite a trippy, intense experience to take in. While you're in a brooding mood about the career path you decided not to take.

It was wonderful to see her, and I don't know about her, but I felt like it had only been a few months since I last saw her. We both hope we can spend more time together sometime. If they start making more Shark episodes, she'll be back!

Did you know that Andrew Jackson ran for President in 1824, and won both the popular and electoral vote, but did not get a majority of either, so the House of Representatives voted John Quincy Adams into office? Very interesting. This helped him win decisively in 1828 since he was considered the first "man of the people" and "the people" felt that they had been ignored in 1824.

A trip down memory lane:
Here we are in the first show she did outside of school, when I took her along with me. This is West Side Story. Please ignore my 16-year-old-in-1989-big-bangs.

Tom Jones at FHS my senior year, when I played her ditzy maid.

Here's one backstage when we did The Sting at FHS early my senior year. Hi Jodie! I am very happy to see that my hair was in the right era for the show.

Here we are on Saturday, at a bar after her show. The (absence of) lighting in the bar made the flash do horrible things to my face, but isn't Anj cute?

Scenes from "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" (Anjali played Rachel, his wife) (I think these are publicity photos):
The show portrays Andrew and Rachel Jackson as cutters.


Here's a picture I found from the reception after opening night. Here she is with the actors who played Andrew Jackson (left) and Martin Van Buren (right), genius performances both, (and I met them both, and lots of the other actors!) and who was in the audience for the opening night but Jim! (John Krasinski)

Here are some clips of the show, if you want to see what I mean:


There are two clips of interviews with creators and cast at YouTube.