September 9th, 2019
See it if
You are looking for a primer about why the Johnson Presidency ultimately foundered
Don't see it if
You are looking for interesting character development, dramatic tension, or an engaging plot.
Also
Play is ill-conceived and poorly executed. Scenes that should have been gripping like the protests against segregation are lifeless. Characters are two-dimensional. Stokely Carmichael thinks nonviolent protest movement is inneffective. Hubert Humphrey struggles with his loyalty to Johnson. But nobody cares about either because the characters are nothing more than cardboard cutouts at a 1960's reenactment. Some actors try to recreate the accent of the real life characters (Mayor Daley, RFK), but Brian Cox doesn't even attempt Johnson's Texas drawl, nor does he fully capture Johnson's unique personality traits either. The play ultimately delivers a confusing message about whether Johnson was a good man who was defeated by circumstance and bad advice , just a political hack who was in over his head, an man of no morality, or something else. And you end up not really caring what the answer is because of the boredom that sets in after 3 hours of drama-less theater.... Read more Read less
