REVIEW: Kathleen Turner brings liberal columnist Molly Ivins to life at the Geffen Playhouse

LOS ANGELES — Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins, currently playing an extended run at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, is not your typical one-woman show.

That’s probably because Ivins, the infamous Texas newspaper columnist who died in 2007 after a long battle with breast cancer, was not your typical newspaper writer. Similarly, Kathleen Turner, who marvelously brings Ivins to life, is not your typical actress.

Written by Allison and Margaret Engel, Red Hot Patriot takes the form of a posthumous rant session where our subject recounts her triumphs and failings. To be sure, the format is contrived, but the execution is wonderfully freeing. Turner, one of our generation’s greatest stage actresses, is given free reign to embody this character. If you’ve ever wanted to hear Ivins’ snappy wit unfettered and without a touch of censorship, Red Hot Patriot will be music to your ears. You may not learn too much more about the newspaper columnist, but you will be able to enjoy her greatest one-liners and sardonic musings about the political playing field.

Director David Esbjornson keeps the action finely focused on the main character without creating too many distractions. Matthew Van Oss plays an assistant simply billed as the helper, but he largely stays out of Ivins’ warpath. For 75 minutes, it’s this Texas icon and us, the paying public.

The Engels are able to tell much of Ivins’ story without it feeling too mechanical. The topics for the performance are carefully selected by a nearby AP wire machine that prints out the columnist’s most famous articles. Much of the evening is chronological, but the playwrights also break from the rhythm to let Ivins describe some of her best war stories in more detail. The aside about her stint at The New York Times and her difficult task of writing Elvis Presley’s obituary are inspired.

Being that the writer was perched on the edifice of the Texas government, much of her skewering was at the hands of her home state’s most memorable politicians. The Bush family, in particular, is the butt of many jokes, while Ann Richards became a lifelong friend. As we learn from Ivins, her humor was always based on political and social commentary. Her typewriter became her voice, her means to change the world. She was a “liberal” and proud of it.

Perhaps too many punches are pulled when Ivins talks about her own misgivings. She struggled with alcoholism and had a strained relationship with her conservative father, but we never get a true idea about the difficulty Ivins encountered when writing her often controversial columns. She rankled many feathers during her 40 years of journalism experience.

Turner smartly uses a Texan accent, but never overdoes the obvious eccentricities of her character. She grounds the columnist in reality, playing with the audience like a stand-up comedian, but also hinting at the subtext of her jibes. It’s a cleverly effective performance that is a perfect homage to the writer herself.

Watch as Turner works her way through the play, always giving the impression of a strong facade, but deep down she’s slowly crumbling apart. Ivins is well served by the obvious talents of this skilled actress.

John Arnone’s scenic design is spare and precise. The setting is a newsroom past its prime, with desks stacked like Jenga blocks against the back wall. It all has the feel of purgatory, as if Ivins needs to clock some time before finding her final resting spot.

As we watch Turner’s character work her way through a final column about her father, we come to realize that the writer is nearing her end and increasingly self-conscious of her losing battle with breast cancer. But she doesn’t go down without a fight. She doesn’t go down without ensuring her words (her legacy) continue long after the final blackout.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins

• Written by Allison and Margaret Engel

• Directed by David Esbjornson

• Starring Kathleen Turner and Matthew Van Oss

• Running time: 75 minutes

• Playing at the Geffen Playhouse at 10886 Le Conte Ave. in Los Angeles

• Click here for more information. Tickets range from $70-$80.

• Rating: