The patriotic fireworks arguably started early this year, with the fallout from the Presidential debate, which arguably was the very definition of “political theater” – something that Hillary Clinton, former presidential candidate and current Broadway producer, found objectionable in an essay a couple of days earlier in the Times: “From ‘Suffs’ to ‘Hamilton,’ I love theater about politics. But not the other way around. Too often we approach pivotal moments like this week’s debate between President Biden and Donald Trump like drama critics. We’re picking a president, not the best actor.”
Vaclav Havel, a playwright turned president, saw it differently, in an essay he wrote 27 years ago. Those who dismiss the theater of politics, he wrote, misunderstand “both the meaning of theater and a crucial dimension of politics…
“All politicians, including those who sneer at theater as superfluous, something that has no place in politics, unwittingly become actors, dramatists, directors, or entertainers. The significant role that sense of theater plays in politics is two-edged. Those possessing this quality can arouse society to great deeds and nurture democratic culture, civic courage, and a sense of responsibility. Such people can also mobilize the worst instincts and passions, make masses fanatic, leading them into hell.”
As Clinton pointed out, theater and politics go in both directions. See my review of “N/A” below.
Theater Quiz for June 2024: Politics, Prizes and Pride
The Week in New York Theater Reviews
N/A
Holland Taylor and Ana Villafañe are perfectly cast in this intelligent and illuminating comedy about the relationship between the first woman Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Their names are never mentioned, but there’s no effort at disguising their identities or altering their biographies; some of what the characters say is even lifted verbatim from recognizable speeches and comments the Congresswomen have made. Full review
we learn that Josh Quillen’s father Jerry was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease… how Josh’s father and Josh’s mother handled what followed; much of the story sad, some of it surprising, parts even amusing. But there are so many clues that the hour-long piece is supposed to resonate beyond just the engaging story of Jerry’s disease and its aftermath that I left the theater wondering: What am I missing? Full review
Book review: Affective Memories. Laurence Luckinbill on The Boys in the Band, Lucille Ball, his nine decades
The Week in New York Theater News
Second Stage announced its Fall 2024 productions, including Leslye Headland’s “Cult of Love” at its Broadway theater, the Hayes, and Donald Margulies’ “Lunar Eclipse” at its Off-Broadway Tony Kiser Theater, which Second Stage is giving up at the end of the year.
It also announced that Evan Cabnet, currently Artistic Director of Lincoln Center Theater’s LCT3, will be Second Stage Theater’s new Artistic Director, succeeding Carole Rothman, who’s retiring after 45 years. During his tenure, LCT3 produced 20 productions, including Pass Over, Marys Seacole, and The Nosebleed
Casey York has been appointed Playwright Horizons’ newly announced Managing Director, succeeding Leslie Marcus, who has served in that position since1993. York, currently with Ars Nova, serves as the President of the Off-Broadway League. She begins work for the Off-Broadway theater at a time of triumph and travail. It launched “Stereophonic,” the biggest winner of the Tonys after it transferred to Broadway, but last week laid off five full-time staffers and reduced its spending in other ways.
The Who’s Tommy will close July 21 after 20 previews and 132 regular performances. A clear fallout from the Tonys (it was nominated for one Tony, for the lead Ali Louis Bourzgui , which it didn’t win.)
Christian Borle will play televangelist Jim Bakker in “Tammy Faye,” the new Elton John musical opening November 14 at the Palace on Broadway Katie Brayben in the title role. Borle replaces original star Andrew Rannells, who announced that he was leaving because of a contract dispute on the 2024 Tony Awards red carpet .(A different kind of “Tony fallout”)
Betty Boop, a musical about the cartoon flapper from the 1930s, will open on Broadway in Spring 2025 following a run in Chicago last year. No specific dates, theater or cast announced
In Memoriam
Bill Cobbs, 90, a familiar face, acting in more than than 200 films and TV shows , and on stage as well, including four Broadway productions. An amateur production in his native Cleveland of “Purlie Victorious” set him on his path. “That play taught me that there were a lot of things I could say in theater, on the stage and in movies and in television, that were very important, that were meaningful things, that in addition to being a means of entertaining people and touching them in different ways, there were things you could say related to the human condition.”
The Week’s Theater Video
Back to the Future cast member JJ Niemann sings “The Power of Love” at Pride in Times Square
