The Trial of an American President NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (30)
See it if Provocative ,absorbing ,involving theater. It made me think. Very well done. And it's a great question 'what if'?
Don't see it if If you don't want to think about history in those years
See it if Really well written and timely thesis that makes you think. 80 minutes flew by.
Don't see it if Everyone should see this
See it if You like recent Political Subjects
Don't see it if If you are not interested in Politics
See it if you'd like to see George W. Bush on trial for war crimes with a jury of audience members declaring a verdict. 8-1 guilty the night I went.
Don't see it if you can't stand the thought of an actor playing "W' trying to defend himself before the world court, along with videos of significant events
See it if Great acting interesting concept with Bush defending himself although when I went the verdict was guilty.
Don't see it if If you don't want to get upset with the war and even what is going on in today's political scene,
See it if You are interested in politics. It's an interesting concept and it's well acted, points for cleverness.
Don't see it if Politics don't interest you, you aren't interested in a "what if?" scenario, or don't want to think about 9/11 and the events that followed
See it if you can suspend disbelief on how he gets to the trial and concentrate on what happens there. Well done effort to display both sides.
Don't see it if you can't get past the initial premise. Read more
See it if you do not agree with the war in Iran and need a catharsis or you enjoy hypothetical political situations based on true events.
Don't see it if you are a fan of George W Bush (I felt it was mostly one-sided) or if the subjects of politics and war do not interest you.
Critic Reviews (10)
"It's a rather sleepy exercise in self-righteous indignation masquerading as an honest examination of one of America's greatest blunders...With a script so heavily weighted against Bush and an audience predisposed to abhor him, there is never any doubt that Bush will be convicted by a wide margin...The entire 75-minute affair is more a liberal revenge fantasy than a genuinely gripping courtroom drama...Stephen Eich directs a technically proficient production that occasionally verges on camp."
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"If you're expecting that the point of staging this mock trial is to provide fresh insights into the disasters of the Bush Administration, you've come to the wrong place...That Tony Carlin isn't very effective as Bush is hardly his fault...Tarlow is unwilling to allow for the ambiguity or clash of ideas that might create real drama...The only thing that keeps Stephen Eich's production watchable is its slick design...Even a really terrible president deserves a better play than this."
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"Despite all its good intentions, it's not a very good play...Carlin does his best to make us buy into the Bush persona. Unfortunately his best isn't convincing enough to buy into the conceit of the set-up...'The Trial of an American President' warrants a flunking grade...Unless the Bush and Cheney families decide to attend a performance, it's a pretty sure bet that Bush's fate will be the same for most of the play's run...Enlisting the audience to serve as jurors is ineffective and gimmicky."
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“Trial is stacked against Bush from the get-go. The director, the author and probably the
actor seem to have decided to make Bush full of
twitches, nervous eye movements and religious fervor. Had Bush been portrayed
as a stronger man who truly believed in what he did, the play might have
had a dramatic spine. The very fact that after being convicted by a jury of
audience members, Bush’s last word is a tearful outcry—’Laura’—serves to
induce not empathy, but pity.”
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"A most interesting theatrical experiment...There is splendid use of technology, with voiceovers and videos...The play, by Dick Tarlow and Bill Smith, is so well crafted that arguments ensued after the last curtain call and the house lights were on. Heated exchanges among audience members, between husbands and wives, continued from the theater to the lobby, the elevator and the ladies’ room. The excellent direction is by Stephen Eich."
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"To be sure Mr. Carlin has perfected a serious vocal imitation of GWB, and if you close your eyes, which you will be tempted to do, the effect is chilling...This is a court that bears no resemblance to a court. A trial that doesn’t sound like a trial. A narrator that has no reason to be there except for exposition–and too much of that will smother a story. The result is a mash-up of good intentions, fact, and no drama...Good intentions and no structure do not a successful combination make."
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"For the many who believe that Bush not only began an unjustified war in the wake of 9/11 but incited problems that have become exponentially worse with the rise of ISIS, among other cancers, seeing him as an ICC dartboard target will likely be a mild cathartic, no matter how rigged against him the playwriting may be...If you weren’t paying attention back then, consider this play a valuable history lesson. If you were, you won’t hear anything you didn’t already know."
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"An earnest, informative and flawed mock trial...It behooves the authors to have been more diligent in the presentation of their research. This is especially true if they are going to ask the audience to make a judgment based on it....A more trustworthy presentation would have been much preferred to the clunky efforts of the production to suggest the trappings of the court, such as portentous echoing sounds and some tin-ear exposition by 'the narrator.'"
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