Mr. Strauss Goes to Boston 1945

Theatre has always intersected with politics, and the presence of American presidents in Broadway, off-Broadway, and regional theatre plays and musicals is a major part of this. Did you know that all of our heads of state have been featured in shows, whether as characters or as plot points that are part of the action? Dramatizing current and former leaders of our nation is a way to examine their affect on society at the time and how political events, even those of many years ago, still impact us all. 

It's Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1828 and the city's world-renowned anatomy schools are suffering from a cadaver shortage. Enter two immoral and highly industrious men--William Burke and William Hare--who pick up the slack by murdering disenfranchised citizens and selling their corpses to one of these schools, Dr. Knox's Academy. Perfect story for a chamber opera, eh? Well, yes, actually, says composer Julian Grant (even if it's opening a bit late for Halloween).

The Crawley family's fate hangs in the balance when MASTERPIECE CLASSIC "Downton Abbey, Season 3" returns in January.