Confidence (and The Speech) NYC Reviews and Tickets

75%

(44 Ratings)

Positive

82%

Mixed

16%

Negative

Members say

Relevant, Thought-provoking, Ambitious, Intelligent, Entertaining

About the Show

In this new drama, when a college professor is asked by a male student about her role time in the Carter administration, she retells it dramatically, with her playing Carter, and her student playing her.

From the show:

On July 4, 1979 President Carter cancelled an important energy policy speech he was scheduled to give the next day and disappeared to Camp David. Ten days later, he emerged from his impromptu domestic summit and gave a new speech, the Crisis of Confidence speech, which many now view as unprecedented, farsighted and insightful. Others think it may have ultimately cost him the White House. Forty years later, college professor Cynthia Cooper is approached by a stranger, a young man, and asked to recall her time with the Carter Administration during the days before the now infamous “malaise” speech. If she is going to tell her story of that time, she is going to play the President. And the young man who wants to know her story? Well, he is going to play her. This unique cross-gender play explores the confidence of a president, a nation in chaos and women in politics.

Show-Score Member Reviews (44)

Relevant, Ambitious, Clever, Confusing

See it if You want an original creative show. It was confusing, but I really liked it.

Don't see it if You are looking for a traditional play.

Revealing, Relevant, Thought-provoking, Clever

See it if you enjoy the interplay of historical events with a story recalling the status of women in the US workplace in the late 1970s.

Don't see it if you would not find interesting a play about the decisions behind the crafting of a President's political speech.

Relevant, Great staging, Entertaining, Absorbing, Clever

See it if you want to see a behind-the-scenes story of the creation of Jimmy Carter's Crisis of Confidence (aka Malaise) Speech. Great ending.

Don't see it if you're not interested in how history relates to today.

Ambitious, Thought-provoking, Relevant, Good acting, Clever

See it if you’re interested in some behind the scenes of political history concerning Jimmy Carter, his administration, and his malaise speech.

Don't see it if you’re not interested in plays with political themes, Jimmy Carter, or his speech.

Entertaining, Great acting, Clever

See it if you would enjoy watching how politics work behind the scenes in the Carter administration. Some clever gender switching in roles.

Don't see it if you want to know more about this speech. Only a brief excerpt is shown at the end. Read more

Informative, Entertaining, Absorbing

See it if If you are interested in politics, are a fan of President Carter or a fan of the politicians and the politics of his time.

Don't see it if If you are not a president Carter’s fan or do not enjoy behind the scene views of politics and politicians.

Intelligent, Great staging, Great acting

See it if You are interested in political history

Don't see it if You like musicals and comedies

Thought-provoking, Resonant, Intelligent, Ambitious

See it if If you're open to a somewhat stilted play that addresses serious political and moral ideas in a quirky way - and you have a cheap ticket.

Don't see it if You want to see a polished, multi-dimensional political play with a clearly experienced cast and playwright. Read more

Critic Reviews (2)

"Political plots can be dry as toast. Hatem attempts to spice things up by crossing the genders of the actors playing Carter and young Cynthia; the convention is an interesting choice although it really doesn't add any new light to the characters or story and is sometimes distracting."
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Score: 78% "It was a crossroads that ended up being a road not taken that we are suffering from today."
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Trailer

Creative team