Friends, are you as tired as I am of the current political season, with its sub-ground level Presidential campaigning'
So where’s a political junkie, or even just a civic-minded gal or guy, to go these days for a breather and a few laughs' Luckily, I have the perfect answer.
Take yourself and cohorts the the Ice House on Sand Island in Bethlehem, while you still have five more chances to see David Mamet’s “November”, a searing political satire about a hilarious presidential campaign and the lengths to which its candidate will go to win.
U.S. President Charles Smith is wildly unpopular in his first term, so with zero chance at re-election, he is determined to leave office with as much cash as he can grab by selling pardons, auctioning off White House furniture, and extorting millions from interest groups like the National Turkey Association and the Micmac Indian Tribe which wants to build a casino on Nantucket Island.“November” premiered on Broadway in 2008, when Mamet, seemingly a conscientious liberal, skewered the failed presidency of George W. Bush.
But after eight years, the play is chillingly foreboding.
In spite of and due to its scathing hilarity, it hints at possibilities to come in the ever-nearing presidential election this November.
What was, or of whom was, the playwright really thinking when he wrote this over-the-top production' It’s a frantically funny puzzle, besides a great political romp, to distract you from the blahs of Hil and Don for a brief while.Tom Harrison, as U.S. President Charles Smith, carries a huge lead with wild energy as he zings through this role with a flamboyance and humor galore.
He is responsible for the necessary brisk pace of the show, and does it complete justice, while maintaining a type of diction and carriage not often typical of the roles Tom portrays. Kudos to Tom for holding the show together, a real piece of showmanship. You can’t help root for him, warts and all.No less admirable is the work of David Fox in the role of ‘second banana’, the President’s long-suffering advisor, Archer Brown. Fox does not carry the weight in lines as does Harrison, but his is an important reactive role to the President, and his timing is crucial to make many of the jokes work. David is an excellent actor in this and many other aspects, and he and Harrison have wonderful charisma and fit together as a pair like maybe Mutt and Jeff, or Click and Clack as they banter ceaselessly.Then there are two parts which fall into what you would call the ‘character roles’ in the show, as if all five people onstage were not characters indeed in their own rights. But I’m referring to, first, President Smith’s speechwriter, Clarice Bernstein as portrayed by Sharon Ferry, and The ‘Turkey Guy’ represented by Bruce F. Brown. Veteran actress Sharon Ferry brings a fine theatricality to a role that could have been somewhat uninteresting in less talented hands. She is the lesbian doormat for the president, seemingly always on tap, and at the top of the show he doesn’t care a whit that she has a terrible cold, probably caught on the plane on her trip to adopt a Chinese baby girl, – he needs a speech, dammit – and he needs it now, babies and colds notwithstanding. Ferry milks every moment of her predicament to great effect in this scene and her others throughout the show.The ‘Turkey Guy’, played with warm sensitivity by Bruce F. Brown, a newcomer to the Kitchen Players, represents the National Association of Turkey and Turkey Product Manufacturers. His goal is to get the President to pardon two turkeys for Thanksgiving on national TV, turkeys he is zealously guarding in hermetically sealed cages in the White House outer chambers. Brown arrives on stage dressed in turkey paraphernalia to the hilt, but he is so obsessed with his job that he lets the audience focus on the garb, while he pleads his case instead. It’s a great ploy and adds to the charm of the scene. The Turkey Guy is the most winningly understated character of them all.Last but by no means least in the parade of unforgettable parties to the production is Chief Dwight Grackle of the Micmac Tribe, whose entrance comes only a few pages before the end of the show. Grackle, seeking to build a casino on the Island of Nantucket, is played with an unusual and effective combination of humor and empathy by Michael Thew, who is fast becoming a veteran actor on the boards. His dialogue is written by Mamet in a Tonto-like style (“Me sorry”) which could have led the actor down a path of detraction to our Native American population, but Thew carefully avoids that trap and plays his few pages with admirable gusto (especially on his dancing entrance) and grace. He helps close the show with President Smith and the others in a way that makes you want to dash for the voting booth and cast your ballot for all of them!Director Ara Barlieb has found a wonderfully enticing way to get us past this election-season blues, if only for an afternoon or evening. But, dear reader, I promise the memories will linger long.Set painting by Nora Oswald; Set design by Ara Barlieb (Presidential Office etc.); Poster & Program by Brian McDermott; Adult language scattered throughout the show.“November” runs October 14, 15, 21 at 8 PM and October 16 at 2 PM as part of the ongoing Ice House Tonight performance arts series.It will also play one night only on October 22 at 8 PM in Quakertown at “The Proper” brew pub.Tickets: Adults –$18; Seniors – $14; Students – $10; available at 610-395-7176 or