Confidence (and The Speech)

See it if ur a politics wonk & want to (re)examine an important speech in the Carter presidency, its legacy & the potential impact it could have had.

Don't see it if you're not interested in historical fiction masked as docu-theater; ur a climate change denier; u seek a plot-heavy, action-filled drama.

Also The completely distracting gender-bending gimmick mars an otherwise noble attempt to turn a potentially dry story of the making of a Presidential speech into an interesting & accessible ethics lesson about a moment of crisis in modern American history.... Read more Read less

See it if you remember President Carter's staff. Or if you are curious about presidential speech writing. Clever character reversal held my interest

Don't see it if you have no idea why any particular presidential speech deserves this much attention. The play fails to explain it. Some of it seems forced

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.

Also This show portrays Carter as much stronger than he was. He was one of the weakest presidents in modern history and one of the characters in the play had it right, this speech was not the main reason for Carter's defeat. It was his total failure to handle the Iran hostage crisis.The fictional ending should make Democrats happy. For all talk in the play about Carter's efforts with ERA, the play, which was written by a Carter fan, shows women treated very poorly in his administration.The 2 female characters either type or serve coffee or tell the female staff what to do. The influential people on his staff were all male.... Read more Read less

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.

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.

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.

See it if You are interested in political history

Don't see it if You like musicals and comedies

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.

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.

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.

Also This play is well-suited to high school audiences and even middle-schoolers for whom the lessons of the Jimmy Carter presidency can be presented in an amusing way. I found the contrivances of turning a male college atudent into a female Capitol Hill intern both imaginative and silly. Having an female African-American professor play the role of Jimmy Carter was equally interesting - and I think students would enjoy this. The roles of the pollster and other people close to Carter were acted inconsistently and made the play hard to follow at times. I admire the ideas and effort the playwright put into this, and I'm an admirer of Jimmy Carter, so I'm glad I saw it, but I would not have bought a full-price ticket for a play that seems so rough at the edges.... Read more Read less

See it if you're interested in history, American politics, gender-swapped roles, female characters

Don't see it if you're not interested in American history/politics; you're uncomfortable with characters changing clothes on stage or gender-swapping roles

See it if You lived through the Carter years.

Don't see it if You are not a history buff.

See it if you like historical plays: All the issues President Carter was passionate about, discussed in a contemporary look back.

Don't see it if you don't like the female perspective to override the narrative

See it if If you want a play about the one speech crisis of confidence by jimmy Carter. A play that makes no sense.

Don't see it if If you were as embarrassed as I was that Carter made such a weak give up speech. If you did not like jimmy carter or a show withbetterplot

See it if you'd like to reflect on initiatives of the Carter administration that have relevance today. A different take on presenting historical acts.

Don't see it if you want a fully serious presentation of the events portrayed. Some difficulty with voice projection especially when facing away fr audience

See it if Celebrated 39th nonagenerian(hopefully centenarian) humanitarian, southern charmer, conservationist, equality-defender, and moral compass...

Don't see it if ...deserves better than this whipping-boy gender-flipped ERA-linked feminine hygiene "better early than late" product subplot travesty.

Also "I can't tell them what's not true/Make sure there's room for the woman's point of view/There should always be room for that/What kind of president would you be if you told them that they're in trouble and that it's their fault?"... Read more Read less

See it if Want to think a bit about what might have transpired behind scenes in Carter's presidency. A moral leader at the cusp of societal change.

Don't see it if Talky, uneven acting, earnest but clunky staging, some weird portrayals, contrived premise. But still, there's some stuff to ponder & like.

See it if If you are interested in political history. It represents an important time in our history.

Don't see it if If you are not a history buff and finds slow moving plays difficult to sit through

See it if you want a weird interpretation of Carter mixed up with lectures on climate change.

Don't see it if you prefer shows that are there to entertain rather than preach.

See it if you want to see a play lamenting lost opportunities and trying to celebrate what may have been the last President motivated by "morality".

Don't see it if you want a coherent argument in a political play with a clear direction

Also For those of us old enough to remember the Carter Administration, it is hard to believe that he could ever inspire positive civil action as President. And the defining period of his Presidency was the Iran hostage crisis, (not the Confidence Speech) where he was easily manipulated by an Iran looking for political revenge.

On the second night of previews, most of the cast still failed to escape their background in miked musicals. They were unable to project or be clearly understood when not facing the audience. The exception was Zach Fifer who seems to have less musical experience and is able to fully embrace his Jonathan/Cynthia character.

The concluding idea that any woman, if President, would be more willing to embrace concrete change rather than rhetoric is simply pie in the sky. Women are as practical and ambitious as men, but the point that everything is politics is definitely a truism.... Read more Read less

See it if Strongly & effective drama on politics & global warming during Carter administration

Don't see it if You does like the topic of politics and decision makers.

See it if you want quite interesting premise (looking back on intersections of policy, power, & gender) in prepping Pres. Carter's "malaise" speech.

Don't see it if you want strong execution of fascinating history moment. Awkwardly directed/staged, with hit-or-miss performances. Makes for slow 1hr,50min.

See it if you like historical & political fiction, feminist theatre.

Don't see it if you don't like feminist plays and/or political theatre.

Also I actually think this would have worked better without the gender switch.... Read more Read less

See it if Flipping great idea- really good cast- fun gender swap with main characters-- centered around Jimmy Carter's pivotal malaise​ speech.

Don't see it if Sentimental and trite ending, I wish it was more bittersweet, reflecting​ the actual speech.

Also I saw it the first night of previews and I imagine things will smooth out a lot-- the pacing was off--and things definitely​ could be cut.
The video and sets were well done as were the costumes which were fab. Excellent acting.... Read more Read less

See it if You sit Really close to the front, the actors talk to the wall & it’s hard to hear The gender/ race mixup is gratuitous and not explored

Don't see it if You want an insightful exploration of Carter’s speech / politics of the era. It has Lots of talk No drama