HISTORY THAT DOESN'T SUCK! Comes to the Broward Center

History That Doesn’t Suck! — a multimedia stage show adapted from the popular podcast of the same name  —  will blend masterful storytelling with a night of live music and stagecraft to take audiences  through the first 100 years of American history in 100 minutes when the show comes to the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center on Saturday, March 15, at 7:00pm. 

The charismatic storyteller is Professor Greg Jackson, best known as the creator and host of the podcast History That Doesn't Suck which ranks at the top of Apple and Spotify history charts and counts millions of listeners.

With a sense of humor that made his podcast rocket in popularity, Jackson masterfully tells the epic tale of the “The Unlikely Union”— the story of the struggle and triumph of a young nation to form, define, and reform itself from the American Revolution through the Civil War. His live storytelling is accompanied by live musicians, sound effects and video. The live show is not recorded for the podcast, “it’s meant to be experienced together,” says Jackson. He adds:

“This is a chance for us to come together in a theater to experience and remember a history that will remind you what a miracle our unlikely union is; a story that reminds us that we are stronger when we remember that we are all Americans. 

I adapted History That Doesn’t Suck! for the stage for the same reason I first created the podcast: to bring important, relevant stories from the past — both well-known and forgotten — to life. I reject the idea that history must be a dry, stuffy, ivory-tower subject. Stories let us push past names and dates. Simply put, good history doesn't have to be told in a way that is boring or divisive, because that would suck.”

“This isn’t a partisan thing – the show’s only ‘agenda’ is to make accurate, scholarly researched American history more accessible and entertaining,” says Dossie McCraw an Emmy Award nominated producer and former Spotify and HBO executive who is now the executive producer of History That Doesn’t Suc

k. “Professor Jackson is as much an entertainer as an academic. We’ve taken this show to 15 states and D.C., so called ‘red and blue’ states and the reaction is always the same – standing ovations. Audiences really respond to the unvarnished yet unifying story.” 

Jackson holds a PhD in history and is a tenured Associate Professor and Senior Fellow in National Security Studies, as well as Fellow of Integrated Studies at Utah Valley University. He also is a frequent commentator in film documentaries including the 2022 HISTORY® Channel three-night event Abraham Lincoln, which was executive produced by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin and featured former President Barack Obama among other history scholars. 

Need more Ft. Myers/Naples Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...