One of the funnier skits on “Inside Amy Schumer” this season was “Betsy Ross,” in which she tells Lin-Manuel Miranda (of “Hamilton” fame) about her new passion project, the next historical figure deserving of “Hamilton” treatment — something we’re guessing Miranda encounters in real life on a daily basis.
Schumer proceeds to act out the musical, rapping, “How does a woman who does not know how to sew/learn to sew/and go on to sew/a flag for her country?” She concludes with a song called “I’m not throwin’ away my mop” to the tune of “My Shot,” an early number in “Hamilton” that becomes the protagonist’s breakout song.
The skit is a spoof, but it raises the question that’s surely being asked in theatrical circles all over the world: Who’s the hot “new” historical figure whose story could come to life onstage?
Alexander Hamilton, meet Louisa Catherine Adams, otherwise known as Mrs. John Quincy Adams, and an excellent contender for the next book-to-stage adaptation. Her biography, “Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams,” by Louisa Thomas, came out in April to enthusiastic reviews, and it doesn’t hurt that the book’s cover was clearly inspired by the “Hamilton” poster.
Born in London in 1775 to an American father and a British mother, the future first lady was raised to think of herself as an American — but she didn’t set foot in the US until she was 26, something John Quincy’s opponents would one day use against him, implying she was undemocratic.
“She lived in St. Petersburg during the time of ‘War and Peace’; she lived in France [and] Prussia; she danced with kings; she lived on ships for 80 days; she crossed Europe 2,000 miles through the frozen battlefields strewn with wreckage from the Napoleonic wars,” biographer Thomas tells The Post. “She lived an interior life, but was put in incredible situations.”
Long before it was fashionable for a first lady to “meddle” in politics, Louisa wrote long letters to her husband, as well as to friends and family, expressing everything from her anti-slavery leanings to her belief that women were in no way inferior to men. And when she wasn’t putting pen (or quill) to paper, she was singing. In fact, her singing voice was what first drew John Quincy to her when he would visit the house of her father, the American consul in London. “He was really taken by her voice,” says Thomas. “He would record multiple days in his diary, ‘Louisa sang my favorite song.’ ”
Later, when he was running for president, she hosted weekly parties called “Tuesdays with Mrs. Adams,” at which she would also sing. If we needed any more proof that her life story is begging to be set to song, her music book is now at the Smithsonian.