Obama’s Evita Moment

Last week, I was asked my opinion of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address by co-workers, friends and family.  While I found the speech to be populist fluff, I couldn’t articulate why I felt this way until I read this quote by Tony-award winning director Harold Prince on politics and theater, “I find Evita herself to be absolutely relevant to contemporary politics, where glamour can mask bad deeds.  I wanted the audience to examine what they worship.”  In those 25 words I found my rebuttal to what I am calling Obama’s Evita moment.

While Prince’s comments were used to defend Evita’s subject matter, my comments are geared towards the substance of the speech.  I’m not attacking Obama for his policies, rather his lack thereof.  Mandated by Article II, Section III of the US Constitution, the State of the Union is significant, because it is the one night where civics, and not cynicism, has the ability to rally the country. 

This year’s speech was seen by more than 37 million viewers.  What they saw was a president, who just four short years ago advocated a different politics, using the pageantry of the moment to provide a false confidence on our economic “recovery.”  Additionally, they saw a president whose rhetoric championed his electoral base, more than the American citizen.

If you think I’m taking cheap shots, I’ll remind you that 3 days after the speech America’s GDP rate was announced at 2.8% for the 4th quarter of 2011.  This is a pathetically weak number, which shows the economy, stumbling, not strutting to recovery.  Couple that with a 8.5% unemployment rate and a $15 trillion national debt, and I doubt most Americans could fully declare, “Morning in America again,” as one Democratic friend did following the speech.

Before Obama’s supporters rebut my opinion, I ask that they go back and re-read the president’s 2008 victory speech from Grant Park, and his first inaugural.  Was this the “change” he championed, and that you hoped for?  Is populism, rather than policy, the correct track for America in the 21^st century?  And this brings us back to Evita!

The iconic scene in the show is the Act II megahit, “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.”  While Evita’s supporters are chanting to hear her dreams for Argentina, she instead uses the moment to defend controversial actions and ask for their continued support.  Sound familiar?  All of this is going on while Argentina, once a model for success in Latin America, heads towards bankruptcy and domestic strife.

In writing the show and defining it as cautionary tale, Evita’s lyricist Tim Rice said, “No country today can claim with confidence that ‘it can’t happen here.’” All I ask of my Democratic friends is to read the speech text, and look for specifics.  Then seriously ask yourself, “Have we chosen glamour over substance in the qualities we demand from a leader?”  As the character of Che says in Evita’s opening number, “Oh what a circus, oh what a show!”

For more information on Evita, or to buy tickets for the upcoming Broadway Revival, please visit: http://evitaonbroadway.com/

The Year of the Politico

Already 10 days into 2012, and 4 of them of have been spent watching election returns and Republican primary debates.  2012 may be the year of the dragon, but I have simultaneously dubbed it: The Year of the Politico.

And like campaigns, every year needs a soundtrack.  So whether you’re stumping in New Hampshire, poll watching in Pennsylvania, or driving to a remote corner of America to avoid election lunacy this year, here are some great shows to accompany you along your journey.

1776 – Never was the cause so great, nor the time so right

It’s only appropriate that the first show of The Year of the Politico be about the founding of the United States.  This Tony award winning best musical, tells the story of our nation’s founding through the eyes of John Adams.  Set during those hot and humid Philadelphia days of 1776, 1776 recants the delegate’s battle over whether or not to declare independence.

One would be incorrect though to judge the show as solely political, for it features a romantic subplot which details the love affair between Adams in Philadelphia, and his wife Abigail back in Massachusetts.  If that doesn’t sway you, then Adam’s opening line certainly will.  “I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace; that two are called a law firm; and that three or more become a Congress!” Now that is a message election year voters will definitely be singing!

Cast Album Recommendations: 1776(OBC) starring William Daniels

Pacific Overtures – Please Hello, America Back!

Probably Stephen Sondheim’s most underrated score; Pacific Overtures tells the story of America opening up Japan for trading with the west.  What makes the show unique is that the story is told through the eyes of the Japanese in a kabuki style format.   The highlight of the show is the Act II opener “Please Hello” where American, British, French, Dutch and Russian diplomats pressure Japan for trade agreements.  Each character makes their appeal by singing a section in a music style from their home country.  It is yet one more example of why Sondheim is frequently associated with the word, “Brilliant!”

Cast Album Recommendations: Pacific Overtures(OBC)

Call Me Madam – Mrs. Sally Adams requests the pleasure of your company

What happens when a Washington socialite gets appointed ambassador to a small, bankrupt, European country?  The result is the hilarious and delightful Call Me Madam by Irving Berlin.  A big hit for Ethel Merman in 1950, the show was tailored to her singing/acting style by Berlin.  The result was a diplomatic romp which featured Merman as Ambassador Sally Adams and won her the Tony award for best actress.

Loosely based on true events during the Truman administration, Call Me Madam is largely  forgotten today.  However, the show is full of wonderful Berlin gems that range from funny (“The Hostess with Mostes’ On the Ball”), to tuneful (“It’s a Lovely Day Today”) to romantic (“You’re Just in Love”).  Unfortunately an official recording was never made with Merman, although her performance was preserved in a 1953 20^th Century Fox movie version of the show.  Regardless of Call Me Madam’s light hearted nature, the movie is definitely worth a view and deserves to live on for a new generation of theatergoers.

Cast Album Recommendations: Call Me Madam Encores Cast Recording with Tyne Daley

Evita – She simply seduced a nation

While Call Me Madam is a light hearted romp about one woman’s foray into politics, Evita is anything but that.  My all-time favorite show is a rock opera based off the real life of former Argentine First Lady Eva Peron.  With politically clever lyrics by Tim Rice and a hauntingly melodic score by Andrew Lloyd Weber, Evita continues to seduce more than just Argentina, 30 years since first opening.

This spring the Marquis Theater will play home to the first Broadway revival of Evita.  The rock opera’s story of how one woman seduced a country features the Latin infused “Buenos Aires”, the electorally seductive “A New Argentina”, Eva’s politically romantic “I’d Be Surprisingly Good For You” and the show’s power anthem “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina.”

Cast Album Recommendation: Evita Premiere American Cast Recording with Patti LuPone

Chess – It’s the US versus USSR

The show that continues to break my heart, Chess remains the most intelligently written musical of the 1980.  And yet, the show has never been a hit with audiences.

Chess is set at the international chess championship where the American and Soviet players compete for the  love and affection of the American manager.  Things are further complicated when the Soviet player defects and the manager is forced to choose between the two.  All of this set in the shadow of the Cold War.

Chess is the perfect example of a concept album whose brilliance was never able to be fully transferred to the stage.  Maybe it is the complicated story, or the fear that audiences wouldn’t enjoy a 12 minute song, but sadly no two productions of Chess were ever alike.  Still with songs like “I Know Him So Well”, “The Deal” and “Anthem” Chess remains a phenomenal show and a reminder of just how much the musical has grown since Berlin wrote Call Me Madam.

Cast Album Recommendation: Chess 1984 Original Concept Album with Elaine Paige

All the cast albums mentioned above maybe found on Amazon.com

Happy listening!