Only four of the 45 presidents of the United States were born in February, but they include the two most revered, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, who are also the two most frequently depicted on Broadway. Both are in shows currently. The other two February presidents, Ronald Reagan and even William Henry Harrison, have also been on Broadway.
Indeed, if all presidents are honored on Presidents’ Day, officially Washington’s Birthday, which is a federal holiday celebrated today, almost all have also made it to Broadway, as the photo essay below illustrates.
Thirty actors have portrayed George Washington in fifteen Broadway shows since 1920. Sixteen of these were in “Hamilton,” originally Christopher Jackson when the show debuted on Broadway in 2015; starting last month, Isaiah Johnson.
Three other U.S. presidents figure in “Hamilton,” but of these, only Thomas Jefferson is depicted at any time during his presidency. (Jefferson has been a character in six other shows on Broadway, including “1776”)
Abraham Lincoln has been the subject of more than a dozen Broadway plays, starting with Benjamin Chapin’s “Lincoln” in 1906. They have been largely favorable portrayals, until the current show “Oh, Mary.” It’s actually even dicier: He is not only just a supporting player to the star, his wife Mary Todd Lincoln; the play doesn’t even use his name; he’s listed in the credits as Mary’s Husband. Conrad Ricamora originated the role. It is currently being performed by John-Andrew Morrison, the fourth Mary’s Husband since the show opened in 2024. He is shown above with John Cameron Mitchell as Mary.
For the record, William Henry Harrison has been a character on Broadway only once, along with 23 other presidents in A. E. Hotchner’s 1964 play “The White House,” which ran for only 23 performances.
Ronald Reagan. the only president who worked as a professional actor (albeit never on Broadway), hasn’t exactly dominated the Broadway stage either. Reathel Bean portrayed him in the Broadway play “Doonesbury” in 1983, but just his voice; and Richard Coombs portrayed him in a 1989 Broadway musical entitled “Senator Joe,” about Joseph McCarthy, but that play ran for just three preview performances and never opened, and Reagan was just one of seven characters Coombs portrayed, including Huck Finn, Lenin and a chicken.
To be fair, presidents have frequently been peripheral characters. FDR has secondary billing in Annie. Theodore Roosevelt has a cameo in Newsies.
Click to read the captions.
