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/

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