Cuffed & Coiffed

07/26/2026

Today, Abigail Adams, not one to let time go to waste while sitting outside speaking with visitors in the yard, alternately mended children's clothing and critiqued edits made to the final draft of the Declaration of Independence.

One more day of 250th programming at Adams NHP tomorrow!

By the way, can you tell how much I love Burnley and Trowbridge reproduction prints? So sad my little one has grown out of the toddler gown I'm mending!

07/23/2026

I'll be back at Adams NHP this weekend, July 25-26!

Join me outside of the JA and JQA birthplaces for readings of the Declaration of Independence, followed by Abigail Adams's reflections on the Declaration and the American Revolution - 10:15 a.m., 12:15 p.m. and 2:15 p.m.

Adams Farm at Penn's Hill, 141 Franklin St, Quincy, MA

https://www.nps.gov/adam/planyourvisit/250-anniversary.htm

07/06/2026

Next up - Tea in Early America at the Salisbury Public Library, tomorrow 7/7 at 5pm!

04/01/2026

To top off Women's History Month and the 250th of the Remember the Ladies letter, on Monday I had the pleasure of joining Phillis Wheatley, Mercy Otis Warren, and Martha Washington at for the reception preceding their program "Founding Women: Ideas of Independence." The panel discussion was stimulating, and we got to visit artifacts such as Abigail's letters from the Adams Papers and the hair jewelry she exchanged with Mercy Otis Warren. I have such a cool life!

04/01/2026

Some stills of "An Extraordinary Code of Laws" performed in the John Quincy Adams Birthplace in Quincy, MA for the 250th anniversary of Abigail Adams's "Remember the Ladies" letter, March 29, 2026.

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04/01/2026

There are no words to describe how meaningful it was to craft and perform my new play "An Extraordinary Code of Laws" with Adams National Historical Park for the 250th anniversary of Abigail Adams writing "Remember the Ladies." Debuting the program in the Church of the Presidents (the final resting place of Abigail, John, John Quincy, and Louisa Catherine), discussing her life and legacy with an esteemed panel of experts whose work I've studied extensively in the creation of this portrayal, and staging the one-woman show comprised of Mrs. Adams's letters in the house where she wrote them - I don't think I'll ever feel worthy of it all.

As we examine her undoubtedly remarkable fortitude, ingenuity, grace, and intellect,  it is tempting to view her as a singular example of an extraordinary woman in a time and culture where women were barred from being extraordinary. Mrs Adams, however, would caution you from holding any one woman up as an emblem of female accomplishments. “It is a pity,” she once lamented to her cousin John Thaxter, “a mind contracted enough to wish that but one woman in an age might excel, and she only for the sake of a prodigy. What must be that genius which cannot do justice to one lady, but at the expense of the whole s*x?” Let us honor her legacy, then, by remembering all ladies. As Mrs. Adams both preached and practiced: remember the women of the past,  support the women of the present, and build a better world for the women of the future.

03/15/2026

An Extraordinary Code of Laws: Abigail Adams's hopes for a better America in 1776

In the early spring thaw of 1776, Abigail Adams sits alone in her humble Massachusetts home and takes advantage of a rare moment of peace by writing a letter to her husband, John. The trials of the past year have been earth-shattering; the devastating outbreak of war at their doorstep, rampant illness in the community, death in the family, and the longest separation of their marriage to date have all taken their toll. While nothing shy of the return of her partner would truly set her at ease, even anxious Mrs. Adams finds she is not immune to the optimism of spring, a sensation greatly amplified by the evacuation of the British army from Boston earlier in the month. Her mind wanders to Philadelphia, where her dearest friend makes impassioned arguments for American Independence. With the prospect of forging a new government rooted in natural rights and equality on the horizon, Abigail dares to imagine a nation that preserves the dignity, legal rights, and educational opportunities of each individual, regardless of their s*x. Audrey Stuck-Girard portrays this intimate moment in a one-woman show crafted from letters written by Abigail Adams to some of her closest confidants.

“An Extraordinary Code of Laws” premieres as part of Adams National Historical Park’s “Remember the Ladies 250 Symposium: The Life and Legacy of Abigail Adams.” This event will be held at the Church of the Presidents, 1306 Hancock Street, Quincy, MA, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM on Saturday, March 28, 2026.

The play will be performed 4 more times the following day at the John Quincy Adams birthplace, where Abigail Adams penned the “Remember the Ladies” letter 250 years ago.

Sunday, March 29, 2026: 10:30 AM, 11:30 AM, 1:30 PM, and 2:30 PM at the Adams Farm at Penn’s Hill, 141 Franklin St, Quincy, MA

https://www.nps.gov/adam/planyourvisit/250-anniversary.htm

03/14/2026

Here's another historical performance I have coming up! Next Saturday, 3/21, the Lexington Historical Society is presenting 2 staged readings of "Alarmed in Lexington" by Debbie Weiss at the Hancock-Clarke Parsonage. The events of the play are set in the pre-dawn hours of April 19, 1775, in the very rooms in which we'll be performing.

I'll be playing the role of Reverend Jonas Clarke's wife Lucy, the woman of the house. She generously gave up her bedroom to the visiting members of her high-status family when they arrived earlier in the month, but her patience is wearing thin after almost a fortnight of sleeping in a trundle bed in the alcove with her 10 children.

03/11/2026

Next Tuesday, March 17, I'll be at the Fiske Public Library in Wrentham, MA as Abigail Adams!

The Story of an Ordinary Massachusetts Family Pulled into Extraordinary Service with Abigail Adams

Tuesday, March 17, 6:30-8:00 PM

A minister’s daughter from outside of Boston who married a country lawyer for love, Abigail Smith Adams (1744-1818) had never imagined herself to be a figure on the national stage. Nonetheless, her self-taught financial savvy, civic intelligence, and patient understanding of human nature provided critical support for her husband, 2nd President John Adams, throughout his lengthy career of public service. A fierce advocate of universal education and the then-novel concept of women’s rights, she reared and inspired her children (including future 6th President, John Quincy Adams) to lead the young nation in defending the notion of liberty for all.

This program is sponsored by the Fiske Library Foundation and is the first of their Revolution 250 speaker series.