Review: Farragut North
Unsettling Politics as Theater
Mark Thomas. Photo by Ron Berg. Courtesy of Unicorn Theatre.
Backstabbing. Illicit affairs. Manipulation. Sound familiar? It’s our American political system and it’s illuminated by a stark lightbulb in the Unicorn Theatre’s current production of Beau Willimon’s Farragut North.
Named for a stop on the Washington D.C. Metro where the maverick politicos go to die, this two-act play exposes the back room politics of a close presidential primary. The characters are ones you’ve seen before, ruthless campaign managers, cocky press secretaries, and damaged and damaging young female interns.
The story follows one Stephen Bellamy, a political wunderkind and veteran of several campaigns at the ripe old age of 25. Under the tutelage of veteran Paul Zara, brilliantly played by Bruce Roach, Bellamy (Mark Thomas) is setting up a caucus in Iowa that they are certain that they would win. After a phone call and subsequent meeting with opposition campaign manager Tom Duffy (Robert Elliott), Bellamy finds himself having to choose sides in a battle he thought he knew and figure out who he can trust and who he’s willing to sacrifice for his own gain.
Farragut North is probably a more accurate play than any of us want to admit. Willimon, in addition to working in television, movies and on the stage, has been on the campaign trail with Senators Chuck Shumer, Hilary Clinton, Bill Bradley, and Howard Dean. His work has a definite ring of authenticity and the issues that he tackles are ones that we know will never go away. Unfortunately, his description of the corruption and lust for power and control are exactly what most people hate about politics—from sexual manipulation to amoral pandering to special interest groups to flat out buying off endorsements. We all know it happens, but Farragut North practically glamorizes it.
Farragut North is probably a more accurate play than any of us want to admit.
(LtoR) Mark Thomas, Bruce Roach, Manon Halliburton. Photo by Cynthia Levin. Courtesy of Unicorn Theatre.
Mark Thomas’ Stephen Bellamy is so frenetic and pulled tight, it’s exhausting to watch. His interactions with the transparently seductive intern Molly are juvenile at best. It’s in these scenes where a 25-year-old tries to woo a more than willing 19-year-old that his age becomes truly apparent, although much is made of his character’s precociousness. Molly (Kat Endsley) is suitably manipulative, wearing her promiscuity and casual liaisons with men much older than her and in positions of power with ease. Her performance was quite believable. Her character repulsed me, but only slightly more than the other chess pieces in the political game.
Overall, Farragut North is a smart, fast-paced drama about what we all don’t want to believe happens every election cycle. In this joint production between the Unicorn Theatre and UMKC Theatre program, director John Rensenhouse uses his age appropriate actors with panache to make this a wholly believable, if slightly unsettling picture of American life.
Rachel C. Murphy is a regular contributor to PresentMagazine.com and the Editor for QuarterLifeAdventure.com.
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