INTERVIEW: Classic ‘State of the Union’ feels surprisingly modern
Photo: State of the Union stars Jamahl Garrison-Lowe, Kyle Minshew and Jennifer Reddish. Photo courtesy of David Patlut / Provided by Metropolitan Playhouse press page with permission.
The Metropolitan Playhouse in New York City is currently stepping back in time to stage Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse’s classic comedy State of the Union, which was made into a successful movie starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.
However, even though the off-Broadway house is mounting a play from the 1940s, the political shenanigans of the plot seem oddly pulled from the headlines of 2019.
In the show, Republican Grant Matthews has his eyes set on the Democrat-held White House, and he’s willing to use his charisma and of-the-people attitude to win over voters. What the Republican Party doesn’t realize is that they have an honest candidate on their hands, and the party officials don’t know what to do. Mary, Grant’s wife, also has principles and honesty, and this power couple may not fit into the political system of the times.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox talked with the director of the play, Laura Livingston, artistic director of Freestyle Repertory Theater. Performances run through March 10. Here’s what she had to say:
On what audiences can expect at the play …
“What they can expect is a play set in 1947 that much of it sounds like it was written today. It was actually produced in 1945, but some of the references we found out are referring to things that happened in ’47. So obviously they updated it while it was running, and some of the actors when they auditioned for it asked which parts we had rewritten because they sounded so current.
“We have not rewritten any. It just addresses the dynamics of politics and the common people and politicians and how they approach it, and yet I had to read it twice to settle down enough with my current feeling toward politics to realize it’s a comedy.And that’s what’s so refreshing. It has that more rational, humane point of view that comedies so often have.”
On whether the commentary of 2019 politics is obvious in her staging …
“The piece is already quite tongue in cheek very often, and it does pretty much speak for itself. … There is one anachronistic thing in that I’m using a modern cast whereas back in ’47 anyone involved in the politics of the era would be white. I have more just a normal New York bunch of actors of multi colors, but the other modern things would be the set is more representational than a solid fourth wall kind of set, which of course is not possible in the Metropolitan Playhouse anyway.
“A lot of it is about the dynamic of politics more than about particular issues. One of the characters will say something like, ‘You have to rely on the common people to make a decent decision.’ Someone will say, ‘The common person is too lazy to vote in the primaries, and politicians are not lazy. That’s why we politicians feel like we can make all the decisions for the common people because they’re not paying attention.’ You think, yeah, yeah, that’s right.”
On figuring out when the laugh lines will come …
“Sometimes you know when a laugh line is written, it sounds like a punchline, but a lot of it is situational. Different people would laugh in different spots. In the course of four sentences, someone might find the first one funny, and the laugh might grow. You really don’t know, and you don’t know from audience to audience, especially if it’s not like an audience of hundreds because an audience of 55 is much more individual because each individual is a much larger portion of that audience. I think it is more interactive that way. You find what’s funny on your own rather than it being pointed up in a particular way.”
On its connection, or lack thereof, to the movie …
“It is a Katharine Hepburn / Spencer Tracy movie directed by Frank Capra, and I would say audiences can expect it to not be exactly like that. Angela Lansbury was in it, too. Their version paints the politicians as really nefarious and evil, and this version probably might land on the side of the people who have more faith in humanity. The politicians have a very good point, so it makes it more interesting and subtle and warmer actually.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
State of the Union, directed by Laura Livingston, continues through March 10 at the Metropolitan Playhouse in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
