The first President from New York and the first President born under the American flag, Martin Van Buren is dramatized as Secretary of State during the first administration of Andrew Jackson. Van Buren casts himself in the role of peace-maker between the wives of the cabinet members, the President, and Peggy Eaton, the subject of scorn by the wives yet a favorite of President Jackson and wife of the Secretary of War, Henry Eaton, one of Jackson’s closest friends. At a dinner party for Alexis de Tocqueville, Van Buren attempts to forestall what he expects to be the first (and proves to be the only) mass resignation of the President’s cabinet in American history. History calls it “The Peggy Eaton Affair.” Even Francis Scott Key is called upon to aid Van Buren’s efforts.
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Each of these short plays ... seizes the moment and renders it in complete dramatic opposition and resolution. -- J.H. Crouch, Professor Emeritus of the University of Colorado and Founder of the Colorado Shakespeare Festival
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Welcome, V. A. Dixcord!,
By Ellen "StitchEllen" (Upstate NY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Character in Time: The US Presidents: Van Buren (Paperback)
If someone had asked me a question about Martin Van Buren, I would have responded, "Martin Who?". His name was one of the several that would have been missing in the list of presidents whose names I remember. Benjamin Franklin was the posthumous object of my adolescent interest and lust, and because his name is not on The List, I never developed much interest in before-my-time presidents until I was introduced to the Character in Time: US Presidents series.Van Buren is one of the latest additions to this series of one-act plays designed to provide a snapshot glimpse at the personality and character of each president and the era in which he (regrettably no "she") lived. This play focuses on Van Buren in 1831, six years before he was inaugurated as this nation's eighth president. He is serving as Secretary of State in Andrew Jackson's Cabinet, and he uses his manipulative (cloaked as sarcastic charm) powers of persuasion to resolve a decidedly sticky situation that threatens a Jackson social event: the refusal of "proper" southern Cabinet wives to attend a dinner that a Cabinet wife with a "shady" past will attend. Van Buren's wiles may give a hint to negotiation skills that may enhance his future performance as President. Or maybe not; he served only one term, after all. Dixcord's description of nonverbal communication throughout this play adds interest and dimension to the script. V. A. Dixcord is a newcomer to the trio that heretofore have written the plays for the Character in Time series in what seems to be their scarce spare time. Thus, I have hope that future offerings will proceed at a more sprightly pace. At the rate they've been going, I'll be dead long before they get to the presidents of my lifetime (FDR's first term and on).VanBuren is a promising start, and unless Dixcord itinerates off to other interests, we should see many more of his contributions to the Project. I can hope!
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