Abigail Adams and Thomas Jefferson in conversation

Abigail Adams (portrayed by Kim Hanley) and Thomas Jefferson (portrayed by Steve Edenbo) discuss subjects ranging from the Tea Act to their favorite kinds of tea, and from the political bog of the Alien and Sedition Acts to their favorite recipes featuring the cranberry bogs of Massachusetts. Their friendship spanned four of the most tumultuous decades of American history. Each witnessed the birth of a new nation from a uniquely influential vantage point, and each helped shape it through ideas, courage, and enlightened correspondence.

They mix debate, banter, jokes, and profound reflection in a way that only old friends can do. What emerges is a living model of civil disagreement. Their exchanges reveal that honest debate, carried out with respect and good faith, is not merely possible — it is essential to the survival of a government by the people. At any given time, women compose at least half of any given audience. Abigail Adams speaks not only as the trusted political advisor to a President, but as the voice of what she called “the distaff portion of our population.” She addresses the constitutional struggles of the new republic while reminding audiences that women were never absent from the founding — only too often unacknowledged. Warm, witty, and thought-provoking, this conversation between two extraordinary minds invites audiences to rediscover the founding era not as distant legend, but as a living dialogue still shaping our own.

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Thomas Jefferson portrayed by Steven Edenbo

Abigail Adams portrayed by Kim Hanley