A "Pursuits of Knowledge" production based off an original play written by Howard Ginsberg, feating Bill Barker, Abigail Schumann, and Sam Goodyear, from May 6th & 7th, 2025.
About the Presentation
Based off of Jefferson & Adams, an original play by Howard Ginsberg, this performance shared the passion and ideals that inspired a revolution and the birth of a new nation through the eyes of Thomas Jefferson and his good friend, fellow revolutionary and political rival, John Adams. The play is a moving and powerful dramatization of the remarkable friendship between two presidents of the United States, with the forthright Mrs. Adams always playing a major role. The production featured Bill Barker as Thomas Jefferson; Sam Goodyear as John Adams; and Abigail Schumann as Abigail Adams.
About the Performers
Veteran historical actor-interpreter Bill Barker is widely recognized as the nation’s foremost interpreter of Thomas Jefferson. After portraying Thomas Jefferson at Colonial Williamsburg for 26 years, Barker joined the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello in 2019. Barker began interpreting Jefferson in 1984 — fittingly, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Combining the tools of theater with rigorous historical scholarship, his approach explores Jefferson’s life and times, and how it relates to our world today.
Barker has performed as Jefferson around the country and around the world, at sites including the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Palace of Versailles, and more. He has been featured as Jefferson in numerous publications including TIME, People, and Southern Living, and has appeared as Jefferson on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, C-SPAN and Comedy Central’s Colbert Report. Monticello guests encounter Barker as Mr. Jefferson in regularly-scheduled programming at Monticello. He also contributes to educational outreach efforts, including electronic field trips and livestream programs, and represents Monticello at special events around the country.
Sam Goodyear has portrayed variously James Fenimore Cooper, Charles Dickens, Benjamin Rush, Cole Porter, U.S. Grant, and Santa Claus. The figure with whom he most identifies, however, is John Adams, since appearing in the 1995 world premiere production of Jefferson & Adams at the Leatherstocking Theatre Company in Cooperstown, NY. John Adams himself regretted never visiting Monticello, and thus this presentation can be seen as a posthumous wish come true.
Abigail Schumann is a Virginia-based actor and living history performer, and a past recipient of the Women in American History Award, presented by the Daughters of the American Revolution, for her work interpreting women’s lives through performance.