Long gone are the days when presidential primaries came "down to the wire". Where at convention, candidates made speeches, fought for delegates, and had more than one round of voting to choose their parties candidate. This, however, is the plot of Gore Vidal's 1960's era play The Best Man, currently being revived (for the second time in 12 years) at The Schoenfeld Theater.
The cast is starry. James Earl Jones and Angela Landsbury are billed above the title, though their roles are small (particularly Landsburys). Mr. Jone's role is somewhat more pivotal though his stage time is scarce. The true stars of the production are Tony award winner John Laroquette (Bill Russel) and Eric McCormick (Joe Cantwell) who play rival candidates in the same political party. One is considered to be more liberal than the other, and one is considered to be more of a "celebrity politician" than the other.
The first act is somewhat dry, with not much but character exposition taking place. The "conflict" is revealed toward the end of the first act where things start to pick up. The second act is much livelier and very entertaining. It is interesting to see how little the political circus has changed since 1960.
The direction, set, costume, and lighting are fine but nothing special. The entire theater is decorated in patriotic bunting. There are also several television screens to bring you "up to the minute" news reports. The house left box has also been made up to look like a news desk set up in a hotel.
The reason to see this play is for the stars. Besides the aforementioned Landsbury, Jones, McCormick, and Laroquette, are Candace Bergen, Michael McKeon, Jefferson Mays, and Kerry Butler, all giving wonderful performances. The play was short on Tony award nominations, but it's still worth seeing. It's also packing audiences in and recently extended until the September 1st. There are student rush tickets available, as well as most of the time being available on TKTS.
This wouldn't be the first play I would send people out to see (That would be Other Desert Cities) but if you enjoy politics, and famous people, this is the show for you.
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