In a bid for viral internet fame, a trio of graduate students (VaShannon Brevard, Charles A. Watson, Benjamin Maineville) wearing goofy Colonial wigs upend the lame lecture plans of their pretentious professors (writer-composer Ron Ross and Amanda Jane Winstead) and transform their classroom into a vaudeville version of Howard Zinn’s textbook in American History vs. American Idol, an earnest but uneven work of civic edutainment. Between techno dances about gluten-intolerant Puritans and doo-wop tunes recounting the Salem witch trials, this show makes some cleverly controversy-courting connections between ancient ills and current events, such as drawing a straight line between Native American genocide and modern anti-vaxxers, or comparing the Boston Tea Party participants to rum-addled children.
Ross delivers his professorial punchlines with deadpan precession, and Watson — who helped write the show’s affecting monologue about civil rights — is an arresting presence with a powerful singing voice. However, the other vocalists are a bit pitchy (to be polite) and although the lyrics might be as sharp as the script, at the press preview they were almost entirely incomprehensible, thanks to an overblown backing track and echoey Madonna microphones that seemed to be muted during musical numbers but overcranked during dialogue. Director Avis Marie Barnes helps imbue the proceedings with a sharp sense of irony that undercuts any potential for patriotic pablum; still, the prop-heavy staging could stand simplification to help smooth the stop-and-start pacing.
American history has always been a painful slog, consisting of one step back for every two forward, and all current signs indicate that things will likely get much much worse before they get any better. But a century ago, progressive Christians, investigative journalists and union members collaborated with artists to confront the rich and put a check on the powerful. Teaching about such historical facts is sadly transgressive in today’s state of Florida, which makes me thrilled that someone is speaking up for truth onstage — especially when they invoke indelible images like zombie James Madison grabbing Richard Nixon by the balls. I just wish these important messages were presented in a slightly more polished package.
American History vs. American Idol
Yellow Venue, Lowndes Shakespeare Center
70 minutes; 13 & up
$15
Get tickets
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This article appears in May 14-20, 2025.