Ashley plays committeewoman Sue-Ellen Gamadge, "the only known link between the N. Ashley sails into the action, filmy fabric swirling around her and billowing behind. Like a one-person regiment, she seems to occupy the whole playing area, commanding the stage with idiosyncratic yet convincing gestures, flourishes, and little majesties of manner. She demonstrates precisely how far an actor can go without quite upstaging the rest of the cast.
And, just for a minute, before being enveloped in the actress's flamboyant, high-energy performance, the playgoer is apt to reflect: "Yes, of course, this must be what it was like back in the old days, seeing one of those legendary theatrical dynamos like Katharine Cornell or Tallulah Bankhead. Hadary is in brief parts of only three scenes, yet his portrait of Sheldon Marcus is intricate and complete.
Marcus, an outsider to the political process, visits the Convention to deliver a vindictive rumor about Senator Cantwell, who did him a bad turn back in the Army.
Though eager to impress, Sheldon is greasy, feral, dim and, most of all, a coward. Were it not for the lightness of Hadary's touch, the audience would find this character execrable from the second he appears. Hadary gives the kind of performance that looks easy but, when analyzed, proves a masterwork of technique and the happy result of the actor's careful observation of human folly.
Because the member company never really gels as an ensemble, Gore Vidal's The Best Man is a parade of distinctive, outsized performances, vying with one another for dominance. If the four leading actors squeeze a modicum of emotion out of their roles and reach further than the spectators' funny-bones--and, to their credit, they do --this is achieved against the grain of Vidal's satiric script and McSweeney's direction. With the exception of Learned, the principals and "guest stars" calibrate their performances not only to the voluminous playhouse but also to the "big-special-event" nature of this revival.
All the supporting players, except Mark Blum as an academic who's trying his hand at partisan politics , get lost in the shuffle. The production has a slick, expensive look. Theoni V. Aldredge, who designed costumes for the original, provides handsome clothes that evoke the s with affection rather than ridicule. However, the book and series of which it is part by Allen Drury is even better. Your email address will not be published.
Sign up to get Lib Dem Newswire privacy policy link below. All comments and data you submit with them will be handled in line with the privacy and moderation policies. Skip to content ». Both were directed at Russell: The people like your sort.
Great fun to watch. It is also fair to imagine that Russell is Vidal's philosopher king, and that is perhaps the tragedy of the play: our system can no longer accommodate someone like Russell, and that's assuming it ever did.
Pretty damn topical right here, about grasping ambition and the will to do whatever it takes, the ends justify the means, and all that political stuff, but done pretty well here by Vidal. The only flaw is giving Fred Thompson, a real piece of shit in politics but a decent actor, the role of playing a noble self-sacrificing type.
Like Republicans of that kind exist. Fuck me, no. If you know Gore Vidal at his best usually in his essays , then you get him at his best here. Brilliant, satirical, brilliant, witty, brilliant Jan 15, Regan MacArthur rated it really liked it. Surprisingly sweet-natured considering who wrote the thing. That might sound a bit strange since this play would probably be billed as a scathing look at the dark doings of American politics in the 20th Century, but it's no accident that Henry Fonda played the lead character in the film version.
Vidal, at least the version of the man who wrote this play, is an idealist underneath all the patrician wit and bitchy attitude. He loves the American experiment and he wants it to go on but he's a reali Surprisingly sweet-natured considering who wrote the thing. He loves the American experiment and he wants it to go on but he's a realist, too. Jun 06, Alex Carlson rated it liked it. Oct 14, Bobby Sullivan rated it really liked it.
Holds up pretty well after almost 60 years, for a political play. Of course, mental illness doesn't stop anybody from becoming President, these days Apr 08, Sarah Morgan rated it really liked it. I wish this was fiction. It still holds up after all these years.
Product of its times and reflective of ours. May 10, Jeff rated it it was amazing. Beautifully written play with strong characters and witty dialogue. Vidal expertly captures the essence of the American spirit through fire and mud of political campaign. Thoroughly engaging. Aug 16, Jeff rated it really liked it. This received a starry Broadway revival last season,and I can see why--this is a sharp, well-made play. If it feels dated, it is only because it is no longer shocking that the personal lives of Presidential candidates would be used against them--and it is that very quaintness that throws our era into such sharp relief and thus makes the play so instructive.
In addition, many of the hot-button issues being debated in the play remain up for grabs today. Ultimately, Vidal is asking an important que This received a starry Broadway revival last season,and I can see why--this is a sharp, well-made play. Ultimately, Vidal is asking an important question that never goes out of style--is it possible for a good man to also be a good politician paging Machiavelli!! Jan 25, Janet Lynch rated it really liked it Shelves: plays-scripts.
Attention high school drama teachers: this would be a good pick to produce if it's available, especially in an election year, to clue kids in on how dirty politics can be. This political satire demonstrates that things in the political arena haven't changed much in 56 years.
I had fun identifying the characters: "There's Trump! There's Cruz! There's Clinton--Bill, actually, even Bob Dole. Shelves: literature. This being a screen- play, I listened to this particular performance of it. It's dated as Vidal himself is dated, the convention represented being of a kind which has likely not occurred since Kennedy received the nomination.
Other than being a representation of character, it is about ethics, and the lack of it, in American electoral politics. Jun 18, Jan Polep rated it really liked it. Was impressed with the star power of the actors when I saw a clip of the revival version on the Tony's, so decided to read the play.
Jul 24, - Sep 09, Mark Blum. Jun 05, - Sep 09, Kristin Davis. Jul 10, - Sep 09, May 23, - Jun 03, Sep 04, - Sep 09, Cybill Shepherd. Jul 10, - Sep 02, John Stamos. Sean Lyons. Aug 07, - Aug 12, Aug 07, - Aug 19, Aug 14, - Aug 19, May 23, -?
Best Revival of a Play. Outstanding Revival of a Play. Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play. Outstanding Sound Design in a Play. View Graph.
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