Since I was vacationing in Washington D.C, Home of the Presidents, I thought it would be fun to go hunting for Shakespeare connections.
As president, Washington lived in Philadelphia, the nation’s temporary capital. There he once hosted an amateur Shakespeare production, probably in the winter of 1790. William Duer, assistant to the treasury secretary, wrote that Duer “had the honor of appearing before him as one of the dramatis personae in the tragedy of Julius Caesar… in the garret of the Presidential mansion, wherein before the magnates of the land and the elite of the city, I performed the part of Brutus to the Cassius of my old school-fellow, Washington Custis.”
There’s also record of his attendance at a Hamlet, and I believe a Tempest as well. Not too much of a connection with the father of my country.
This posting marathon, in celebration of Shakespeare Day, is brought to you by nothing but my time, my resources, and my love for the subject. While we’ll always be the original Shakespeare blog, it takes a significant amount of effort to make us the best in the digital universe. If you’ve not yet seen how you can show your support, now’s a great opportunity. If you’ve already done so, thanks very much!
We have a painting with a figure of possibly Geo Washington in a pose that follows one of Trumbull’s where he is standing and leaning on a cannon, but in our version,he is a mirror image of possibly Geo Washington leaning on a garden pedestal with a bust of Wm Shakespeare.
Have you ever come across anything where Washington had a pedestal with Shakespeare in his garden at Mount Vernon?
I haven’t but then again I havent looked. It’s an interesting question, I’ll dig around a little bit!