Review: Miss. Saigon at Signature Theatre

When Miss. Saigon opened on Broadway in 1991, the production played to 1,700 theatergoers nightly, featured a cast of 40 and a physical production which incorporated a helicopter landing on-stage.    So what would happen if Miss. Saigon was suddenly scaled down to a small regional theater?  Would this epic stage show survive?

That was the question facing Signature Theater when they announced Miss. Saigon as the opener for their 24^th season. The result was astounding.  Not only did Miss. Saigon survive, but 24 years after its world-première in London, I’m thrilled to report that the show has held up unbelievably well in this thrilling new production!

For starters, I can’t stress enough the reduction in the size and scope of this production.  Most musicals are scaled down when they go from Broadway to regional theater, but this reduction was drastic.  Signature’s Max Theater only seats 275 patrons and this revival features a cast of 18, roughly half the size of the original London and New York casts.

One problem with the original Broadway production was that the staging took away from Miss. Saigon’s book, music and lyrics, the heart of any musical.  Whereas with The Phantom of the Opera, audiences could remember both the special effects and the score, with Miss. Saigon it was a different story.  Audiences could remember the helicopter, but none of the songs.  There was no balance between these two storytelling techniques.

In Signature’s production, director Eric Schaeffer has done a remarkable job refocusing the story away from special effects and more towards the love-story at the heart of the show between an American GI and a Vietnamese bar girl during the fall of Saigon in 1975.  Furthermore, Schaeffer’s staging allows the songs to better tell the story.  And luckily for this audience, the score is beautifully performed by a 15 piece orchestra (much larger than many current orchestras on Broadway).

Adding to the chaos and confusion of Miss. Saigon’s war setting is the environmental set design which is at the heart of this production.  The theater is littered with military paraphernalia including an authentic Vietnam-era airplane wing and cockpit.  All of this leads to the question: Is there a helicopter?  Yes, the helicopter does make an appearance.  And while I won’t spoil the moment, I will reveal that it is only used to enhance the scene, not steal it.

A great deal of praise and credit for this production’s success must also be given to the performances of Thom Sesma (the Engineer), Diana Huey (Kim), Jason Michael Evans (Chris) and Erin Driscol (Ellen).  With a well established show like Miss. Saigon, it’s easy to create performances that are carbon copies of the original Broadway cast.  But this cast has indeed created a Miss. Saigon that is their own and the on-stage chemistry is only adding to the excitement of this production.

There is one final aspect of this production which can’t be ignored and that is a new Act II song entitled “Maybe” making its world-début in this production.  In preparation for next year’s 25^th anniversary London revival of Miss. Saigon, the creative team of Claude-Michel Schonberg, Alain Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. decided to rewrite a scene in Act II causing them to remove one song, and substitute it with “Maybe.”  In an effort to not be a spoiler, I won’t disclose much about the song except to say that it’s terrific.  And for audiences, there’s nothing more exciting then to hear a new song before the rest of the theatrical community.

The fall 2013 DC theater season is just beginning, but as of right now, it’s hard to imagine anything more exciting this year than Signature Theatre’s production of Miss. Saigon.  “Why, God, Why?” is not just a ballad in the first act, it’s the question you’ll be asking if you miss this production!

Miss. Saigon is playing thru September 22.  Tickets maybe purchased here.

The Real Legacy of Helen Thomas

I had the pleasure of meeting Helen Thomas on two different occasions: once was in the classroom; the other was in her arena otherwise known as The White House Press Briefing Room.  While many are focusing on her legacy as a trailblazing female journalist, I would assert that Thomas’ real legacy is more a reflection on the downfall of journalism itself.

Thomas had a solid reporting career for more than six decades.  She was THE reporter who asked the tough questions, followed the story, always reported “the facts” and ended every presidential press conference with, “Thank you Mr. President.”  One time I asked Reagan and Bush (41) White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater about his worst day at The White House.  He quipped, “Anytime I walked in to find Helen Thomas sitting outside my office door.”

By the time I first met Thomas in late 2007, it was clear she had changed.  During the last weeks of my White House internship, I was given the opportunity to sit in and observe a live White House Press Briefing.  Being the only kid in Pittsburgh who would run home from school to watch the briefings on C-SPAN, this was a dream come true.

I had known about Helen Thomas long before I ever came to Washington and had devoured her columns and books.  But that day I was amazed at her behavior in the press room.  This wasn’t the women who broke the gender barrier in journalism, or who covered every president since Kennedy.  No this was a bitter, argumentative, combative old lady screaming at an administration official.

Several months later, I was formerly introduced to her through my undergraduate electronic journalism professor.  He had been Helen’s former bureau chef at UPI and she was our guest professor for the day.  I had the honor of the “first question” and asked her, “A lot of reporters no longer report the facts.  They go on television and provide their opinions under the label of ‘political analysts.’  Is this practice ethical, or should reporters stick to the facts?”

She obviously didn’t like my question, and got the underlying subtext.

Without missing a beat she fired back, “NO!  More opinion columnists should come down to The White House and see how it’s done!  You know they’re all crooked (the presidents).  They come to office and never fulfill their promises.”

Much of the tributes to Helen Thomas have focused on her role as a trailblazer.  The praise is well deserved.

However, it would be wrong to ignore that her career, which once practiced the gold standard of journalism, devolved into the opinion based reporting that currently poisons our media.  Furthermore, that the lowering of her professional standards occurred at a time when the public’s trust and faith in the media sunk to an all-time low.   There’s not a doubt in my mind that’s due to the movement from “political reporters” to “political analysts.”

This to me this is the real legacy of Helen Thomas.  At a time when the nation needed solid reporters chasing the facts, she deserted journalism.

Helen Thomas was 92 years old.

My Favorite Things

MarqueePolitics is turning two this month, and this blogger is turning the big 27. With these milestones on the horizon, it got me thinking.

I’m often asked about my favorite performances, and to identify which ones made the biggest impact on me.  With my birthday right around the corner, I thought that this would be an appropriate time to reflect on the performances that have never quite left me.

Phantom/Miss. Saigon/Cats

“Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.”

All it took was: a crashing chandelier, helicopter landing and dancing cats.  These were first shows I ever saw (ages 3, 6, 7).  Their combination of: high emotions, grand spectacle and memorable pop scores sent my young imagination soaring.  I often call them the holy trinity of musicals, because it was these three shows that introduced me to the great love of my life, the theater.

Evita – 1979 Original Broadway Cast Recording

I had an epiphany in high school, and it was the first time I ever listened to the original Broadway cast recording of Evita.

The rock opera’s themes of politics, revolution and media manipulation hooked this young politico at age 16.  Evita was further electrified by Patti LuPone’s fierce portrayal as Argentina’s First Lady and her ambition to succeed at all costs.  Despite having the album for the 11 years, not a week goes by when LuPone and the original Broadway cast of Evita can been heard from my apartment, giving this show a touch of star quality!

Elaine Stritch at Liberty – 2002 Broadway Production

Rare, intense, humorous, honest and a triumph of the human soul.

I was lucky enough to attend the last Broadway matinee performance of this show.  From that Sunday afternoon, I learned that human’s can triumph over any adversity as long as we don’t stop fighting.  Accompanied by a songbook of classic Broadway hits, Stritch walked the audience thru her: fights with alcoholism, struggles with love, triumphs working with Noel Coward and Stephen Sondheim, and life’s journey from being raised in Detroit to having her name adorn Broadway marquees.

Great actors leave it all out on the stage and Stritch set the bar for generations to come.

 Company – 2006 Broadway Revival

Company, more than any other show, changed my perspective on life.

My parents split when I was very young, and what understanding of marriage I had came from television.  Because of that, I never understood the emotional complexity involved when two people enter into a relationship, and what I did know was very one-sided.   Company threw cold-water on that idea, teaching me that relationships are about sharing your life with somebody, not just some-body.  Theater is often a reflection of life through art, and its through art that we learn so much about ourselves as individuals.

The Audience

The one constant in all these productions is the audience, and I’ve been lucky to have always had a supporting audience of my own.  While I won’t use their names, I want recognize the friends and family who have encouraged my love of the theater: My parents who introduced me to the musical at age 3, grandparents who were always game to see a show on Broadway – even if they didn’t quite “get it”, Chief of Staff, and dear friends living across the country in: New York, Pittsburgh, Rockville, San Diego, Seattle and Washington, DC.  All of which I owe a debt a gratitude for indulging in my life’s great passion!

The cast albums to all shows mentioned above are available on amazon.com.

Furthermore, video productions of: Cats, Company, Elaine Stritch at Liberty and Phantom may also be found at amazon.com.

From Bush to Chicago: A Comeback Story

Last week Gallup revealed a once unthinkable poll result: former President George W. Bush now has a higher approval rating than President Barack Obama.  Considering how much of Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaign narratives were about being the anti-Bush candidate, it’s an interesting twist and one the current West Wing must not be enjoying.

In discussing the poll result with a former Bush White House colleague who follows my blog, I was asked: “Perceptions of presidents have changed over time, is the same true for musicals?”

It’s an interesting question and the answer can be found in this statement:

“Ladies and Gentlemen, you are about to see a story of murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery and treachery – all those things we hold dear to our hearts.”

There’s been no greater second act for a musical than Chicago, currently playing at Broadway’s Ambassador Theater.  With more than 6,583 performances on Broadway, the winner of seven 1997 Tony Awards and six 2002 Oscars, it’s hard to believe but Chicago was once on the verge of being condemned to the Playbill archives.

On paper, Chicago had the makings of a hit with: Bob Fosse as the director-choreographer, written by the composer-lyricist team of John Kander and Fred Ebb, and a cast that included theatrical legends: Chita Rivera, Jerry Orbach and Gwen Verdon.   What it didn’t have was timing, and sometimes on Broadway that’s the most important ingredient.

A week prior to Chicago’s opening in June 1975, the most groundbreaking musical since Oklahoma opened down the block at the Shubert Theatre, A Chorus Line.  Compared to Chicago’s overtly cynical view of the justice system, Chorus Line’s story about the dreams and struggles of dancers on Broadway was cheered by critics and audiences.  When the 1976 Tony Award nominations were announced, Chicago received 10 nominations, losing everyone of them to A Chorus Line.

Despite a respectable Broadway run of 936 performances, the original Broadway production of Chicago closed in 1977 with little fan fare.  Chicago’s portrayal of justice and celebrity seemed in poor taste.  That perception would change overtime, all thanks to OJ Simpson, 24 hour cable news and a growing tabloid media culture in the United States.

At New York City’s City Center Encores, a program dedicated to performing musicals that are rarely produced, the creative team knew that by 1996 the time was right for audiences to get reacquainted with Chicago.  The coverage of the Simpson Trial had only validated the show’s concept of criminal celebrity.  So they scheduled a revival concert and well, the rest is history.

The concert production was turned into a full-blown Broadway revival, opening in November 1996.  In 2002 Chicago, which was first deemed too cynical for audiences, further advanced its comeback with a hit movie that grossed more than $306 million worldwide, and became the first movie-musical to win the Oscar for Best Picture  in more than 30 years. 

Time changes our perspective on everything, from politics and musicals, to policy issues and songs.  What both President Bush and Chicago demonstrate is that the verdict of the critics is only temporary.  It is history who will render the final judgment…and all that jazz!

For tickets to the Broadway, US Tour and International Productions of Chicago please visit: www.chicagothemusical.com/

SPECIAL TONY AWARD EDITION – Here’s to the losers!

“And the Tony Award goes to…” (Watch the video, how many faces do you recognize?)

These will be the final words dozens of nominees hear tonight before: hearts’ break, dreams’ shatter and the realization sets in that they lost the American theater’s highest honor to someone else.

While everyone says, “It’s an honor just to be nominated,” no one believes that BS line.

However, time has shown that winning a Tony Award doesn’t make one a star, it’s the audience who makes that judgment call.  To those who will lose tonight, I’d like to console them with two actresses’ stories who confirm that it is the performance, not the accolades, that history ultimately remembers.

Wouldn’t It Be Loverly – 1957 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical

Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolitte in 1956’s My Fair Lady.

It’s hard to believe that Julie Andrews has never won a Tony Award, especially given that her name is synonymous with one of Broadway’s masterpiece’s My Fair Lady.  She was only 21 when the show opened in 1956, and a relative unknown, but her performance of cockney-flower girl Eliza Doolittle earned her cheers from audiences and critics.  Although, not from Tony Award voters who gave the 1957 Best Actress in a Musical Award to Judy Holliday for Bells Are Ringing.

What’s remarkable is that even though she lost the Tony, and even the film role to Audrey Hepburn, no actress has ever been to escape Andrews’ shadow as Eliza.  Many actresses have tried, but none have come close.  Fortunately for us, Andrews’ performance as Eliza was preserved on My Fair Lady’s original Broadway and London cast albums.

While a Tony Award for Andrews would have been great, it must be especially loverly knowing that 58 years onward, people are still cheering her performance!

Don’t Rain on My Parade – 1964 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical

How does one justify the fact that Barbra Streisand won an Oscar for her portrayal as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, but lost the Tony Award for Best Actress in 1964 for that very same role?  In reality, despite giving a knockout performance, Streisand had the misfortune of being nominated against another iconic actress/role, Carol Channing as Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly!  History though had other plans!

Streisand was Funny Girl, and till this day her performance is still talked about! Don’t believe me, give the YouTube clip a list and prepare to be blown away!

Yes, this is aided by her performance in the 1968 film adaption of Funny Girl.  But since the original Broadway production of Funny Girl closed in 1967, no actress has ever come close to matching Streisand.  So great is the memory of Streisand’s performance, than many potential Broadway revivals have failed to materialize simply because of the memory of her.  Quite simply put, don’t rain on Streisand’s parade!

 A word to the nominees

Yes, it stinks to lose.  But Julie Andrews and Barbra Streisand’s examples demonstrates that history and the audience will ultimately judge who was the best that season.  Great actors don’t let awards define them; they allow their performance to do just that.

As for yours truly, I am a 2009 Tony Award holder.  And yes, the Tony medal feels great to carry!

Hurricane Christie

Memo to conservatives: These images of President Obama and Gov. Christie did not lose you the 2012 Presidential Election.

President Obama is touring the Jersey shore with Gov. Christie later today.  Like an approaching hurricane far off in the distance, the conservative criticism of Gov. Christie that is about to reappear is both predictable and ludicrous.  Before the “conservative intelligencia” restart the anti-Christie movement, let’s take a moment and set the story straight.

The president’s visit is sure to remind conservatives of Gov. Christie’s post-Hurricane Sandy comments, comments they viewed as tantamount to treason. 

Six days before the election on NBC’s Today, Gov. Christie was asked about the federal response to Hurricane Sandy to which he replied, “The federal government response has been great. I was on the phone at midnight again last night with the president personally. The president has been outstanding in this. The folks at FEMA … have been excellent.”

President Obama and Gov. Christie brief the press after touring New Jersey and seeing the effects of Hurricane Sandy.

Matters, in the eyes of conservatives were made worse when Gov. Christie was photographed showing President Obama the decimated Jersey shoreline.  Too some in the conservative movement, including many Romney aides, Gov. Christie’s comments were what helped sway the 2012 election towards President Obama.

To that I say, get real!  Is it any reason you lost?

Chris Christie did not lose the 2012 race for Mitt Romney, Mitt Romney did that for himself.  And furthermore I counter by asking what should Gov. Christie have done?

President Obama and Gov. Christie tour the Jersey Shore via Marine One after Hurricane Sandy.

Hurricane Sandy, in New Jersey alone, killed 37 people, damaged 346,000 homes and caused $30 billion in damage.  Gov. Christie, did what good public servants do.  He put service ahead of party and went to bat for his state.

The real act of treason is that the conservative movement still views the anti-Christie sentiment as acceptable.  So before the conservative movement re-ignites the debate, this conservative want to get out ahead of the storm and set a course-correction.

Happy Liza Doolittle Day!

Next week, on the twentieth of May, I proclaim Liza Doolittle Day!

-My Fair Lady

Ok, it isn’t, Christmas or the 4^th of July, but every year on the 20^th of May, I look forward to Eliza Doolittle Day!

The 20^th of May reference comes from My Fair Lady’s Act I fantasy number “Just You Wait (Henry Higgins).”  While not an official holiday, Eliza Doolittle Day is the nearest event I’ll ever have to celebrating the brilliance of My Fair Lady because it conceptualizes the definition of a masterpiece.

My Fair Lady is about a professor named Henry Higgins, and his attempt to turn cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle into a lady by teaching her how to speak properly.  Underpinning the entire show is a romantic, dare I say sexual, tension between the two as they struggle to understand one another in their attempt to master the English language.

It wasn’t until last December when I finally saw My Fair Lady on-stage for the first time in an ill-conceived production at Washington, DC’s Arena Stage.  This revival had many errors including: poor casting, an over-stated and misguided focus on the issue of class relations, and the removal of the show’s glorious overture.  Why though, was I still applauding at the show’s curtain call?

Herein lays what defines a masterpiece and why My Fair Lady is one.

At its core, My Fair Lady addresses one of humanity’s great enigmas: the relationship between the sexes.   Despite attempts to re-frame the story, My Fair Lady’s book and musical structure are so solidly constructed that it’s impossible to lose focus on the show’s underlying theme.

A masterpiece is something whose integrity, meaning and impact never change throughout time.  Their statement on society is timeless.  One of the great attributes of this masterpiece, is that regardless of whatever future artistic interpretations may bring, nothing can diminish how the elegant-simplicity of Alan Jay Lerner’s lyrics, the beauty and innocence of Frederick Lowe’s score or the pitch perfect wording of Lerner’s book tell the story of Eliza and Higgins.

A lot of musicals have opened and closed since My Fair Lady first debuted in 1956, but none have continued to capture the public’s attention quite like My Fair Lady.

It’s a rare musical that can continue to please generations of thespians, theater critics and audiences, not to mention moviegoers as well.  So on this Eliza Doolittle Day, give the cast album a listen or the movie a viewing.  And remember, you’re in the presence of a masterpiece!

Just You Wait Henry Higgins – Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison in the original Broadway Cast of My Fair Lady

 

The Art of Storytelling Part II

The nature of love and the meaning of life are two abstract concepts which Broadway shows seem to be in a constant struggle to forever define.  Fortunately, I saw two shows on my recent trip to Broadway which employed unconventional methods to answer these unconventional questions.

Pippin – The Music Box Theatre

The theatre was pitch black, the curtain a dingy tent flap and from the orchestra a faint piano could be heard as a slinky black shadow slithered toward the audience beckoning, “Join us…”

It’s easy to hook an audience with a great opening number, and Pippin has one of the best in “Magic to Do.”  But it’s also easy to lose an audience when trying to define an abstract question, which is what Pippin is all about.

The musical follows the story of a boy named Pippin as he searches for the meaning of life.  It’s a quest everyone in the audience is familiar with, both personally and on-stage, for Pippin’s journey is not unlike Princeton in Avenue Q or Candide in Candide.

What makes Pippin’s journey different from those before (and after) him is the honesty with which life’s choices are laid out.  Pippin, like many of us, searches through life’s all too familiar phases including: military glory, sex, politics, family and even ordinary life before finally arriving at what he views as the best way to make his life extraordinary.

The emotional and physical choices Pippin must address are conveyed by the fact that the show is performed by a troupe in a circus like atmosphere.  This troupe not only breaks the fourth wall in addressing the audience, but uses the circus setting to symbolize the hoops one must jump through and the beams one must walk across to find the answers to life’s most complex questions.

Life as circus is not an original metaphor, but it is an honest one.  And Pippin’s quest to find life’s meaning is an innocent and honest enigma we all try to solve.  Pippin’s greatest attribute as a musical is the clarity in the portrayal of life’s choices through its spectacles.

The Last 5 Years – Second Stage Theatre (Off-Broadway)

Countless musicals have told love stories on linear paths regardless of their ending.  But what about telling the story from two different angles and time perspectives?  That’s what makes The Last 5 Years a modern classic.

The Last 5 Years is a one act, two character, 90 minute show.  It tells the story of Jamie and Cathy over their five-year relationship, from the first date to their divorce.  Now, I’m not spoiling the ending, because the audience learns of the couple’s demise within the first song.  But the real question is how did they get there?

To answer that question composer Jason Robert Brown, who also directed this magnificent production, told their story in two distinct directions.  The songs alternate between Cathy and Jamie, with Cathy starting the show at the end of the marriage, and Jamie starting at the beginning of the relationship.  When the show concludes, it is Jamie who laments the marriage’s demise while Cathy is celebrating their meeting.

The real joy in watching The Last 5 Years is seeing this one-story told in two different and opposing emotional directions.  Even more fascinating is that both characters only meet and appear onstage together one-time throughout the show.  That happens mid-way thru when both stories intersect, at their wedding.  The scene is both heartbreaking because you know what’s coming, but also thrilling because you see the joy in their eyes.  Now, that’s great storytelling!

Finale

I saw The Last 5 Years and Pippin on the same day, one at the matinee and the other in the evening.  It was perhaps one of the greatest days in my theater-going journey, and reinforced what I love so much about the American theater: its ability to tell a story and the creativity involved.

The Last 5 Years will conclude its limited run on May 18, tickets are available by clicking here.

Pippin currently has an open-ended run, tickets are available by clicking here.

The Art of Storytelling: 2013 NYC Broadway Recap

Warning: This post will contain plot spoilers for the show’s mentioned.  Proceed at your own risk!

MarqueePolitics has been busy traveling and just returned from a whirlwind weekend in New York City seeing four shows: Matilda, The Last 5 Years, Pippin and Cinderella.  And while each musical was different in its style and staging, one thought kept popping into my head.  Sometimes it’s not the story that counts, but how you tell it!

Matilda – Shubert Theatre 

Matilda sailed into Broadway from London last month with a lot of hype and dazzling reviews.  Yet, it was the most anticlimactic-boring musical I have sat thru in a long, long time.  I arrived at this summation when heading to the men’s room at intermission, thinking about the Act I Finale and simply saying, “That’s it?”

Based on the Roald Dahl book, Matilda centers on an extremely intelligent five-year old girl. Despite having parents who hate her, and a nasty headmistress, she’s able to conquer life’s problems using her intelligence and, later on, telekinetic powers.

The problem with the telekinetic plot twist is that for a good 70% of the show, Matilda uses her intelligence to outwit those who wish her ill-will.  This shtick maybe cute, but by Act II it becomes quite predictable.  When Matilda’s telekinetic discovery finally is made,  it arrives in the form of Matilda knocking over a glass of water.  This discovery had a feeling of suspense comparable to hanging wallpaper.

I know the British are stereotyped as being rather dull, bloated and uptight, but that’s exactly how Matilda came off.  It was charming, yet dreadfully dull.  Good stories hold your attention, Matilda forced my attention to think about which bar I would frequent after the show.

Cinderella – Broadway Theatre

If Matilda was prim and proper, than Cinderella was its musical sibling of an adverse nature.  Originally a 90-minute Rodgers & Hammerstein (R&H) television musical, the show was elongated by one hour for its Broadway debut this spring.  To fill the gap, the producers imported music from other R&H shows and commissioned a new book (the spoken text of a musical) to be written.

The result was a mismatched narrative of a show, akin to wearing a tuxedo shirt and jacket with gym shorts and flip flops.   Cinderella is a classic fairy-tale where formality, elegance, manners and grace are as essential as the white ball gown and glass slippers.  Yet the words being spoken out of the characters mouth placed them in a B-movie comedy circa 2002.

While the new book attempted to freshen-up the show’s well-worn plot, the use of modern slang and colloquialisms not only cheapened the characters, but a lovely musical.  Cinderella is a reminder that in musical theater, music and lyrics simply don’t tell the story.  They ONLY work when combined with a well written book.

Storytelling maters….

Despite technological advances in stagecraft, Matilda and Cinderella confirmed that nothing can overrule a well told story.  Matilda and Cinderella were nice productions, but lacked the essential tools of drama (Matilda) and eloquence (Cinderella).

In Part II of this post, I’ll explore two shows which redefined the art of story-telling in vastly different ways including: forwards, backwards and with a little bit of magic to do!

Welcome to our first and last reunion

“Welcome to our first and last reunion”

In the Rose Garden on my final day at The White House

It’s those words, the opening line to the musical Follies, which I keep replaying in my head while packing my suitcase.  Surrounded in my apartment by mementos, trinkets and pictures, a feeling of anxiety fills my stomach.  Four years ago, I said goodbye to my dream job after an all too brief rendezvous.  Now, four years older (and maybe a bit wiser), I re-enter what was once hallowed ground, the administration of George W. Bush.

Currently, I’m en route to Dallas for the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.  For staffers who worked in the administration, this is one of only two reunions we’ll ever have to celebrate the work of the 43^rd president together.  And with the next reunion being a state funeral, it’s the more joyous of the occasions.  So why then am I so nervous about attending this reunion?

Marine One Landing on the South Lawn of The White House

Reunions are funny things because they’re time lapses.  Unfortunately though, they can also become a state of mind.  I know too many colleagues who have never moved beyond The White House years, forever defining themselves by their brief encounter with the executive branch.

Yet in fairness though, it’s hard to move beyond The White House.  No job will EVER top it.  From the moment you leave, every job interview onward we’ll include at least one White House related question.  I can’t count the number of interviews I’ve been on where the interviewer disclosed to me that they are a Bush Republican!

Working in The White House means, you’re one of the lucky few who was on the inside gate of history looking out, and it’s that perspective on history which can define you, but only if you let it. It’s easy to become paralyzed by this state of mind, and maybe that’s my real worry.

Not that I’ve let the experience define me: but rather, the opposite.  That I haven’t branched out enough or sought tougher goals. By attending this reunion, maybe it’s a reminder to make my post-White House life as rich and fulfilling as was my Bush Administration experience.

On Thursday morning, President and Mrs. Bush will be joined by former Presidents Clinton, Bush (41) and Carter.  They each dreamed of reaching The White House, and after leaving, faced the challenge of being defined by that goal.   Their post-presidency work is a reminder that our past exists only to inform and motivate us, to use our experiences to create a better present and future.

As Bush Administration alumni, this is our first and last reunion with President Bush.  It will be, as one of the Follies characters says at the show’s opening, “A final chance to glamorize the old days…and lie about ourselves, a little.”  For me, it will be one last chance to remember the people and the experience that came to define my early professional career.  To use this final reunion as a reminder of the standards set by President George W. Bush and continuing to personally and professionally progress forward on the ideals I first held at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum