Darrell Hammond Will Portray Sen. Everett Dirksen in Industry Workshop of New Play

Actor Darrell Hammond of Saturday Night Live fame will portray Sen. Everett Dirksen in an industry workshop of a new play about the life of the Illinois senator, one of the most consequential political leaders of the 1960s.

The Illinois-based Dirksen Congressional Center, which holds Dirksen’s archived documents, speeches and memorabilia, commissioned the play in 2021 under the pen of New Jersey playwright Wade Dooley, who is a central Illinois native. The workshop of “The Honorable Mister Marigold” is scheduled for late October and early November.

Hammond is no stranger to the stage, with extensive credits that include a stint on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” and multiple productions at the Bay Street Theatre including portraying Truman Capote in “TRU.” He’s also the author of a New York Times Best-selling memoir.

“Like other people of destiny I’ve had the privilege to study – Reagan, Capote, Clinton, Churchill – Everett Dirksen is utterly himself. There’s no one else like him. Not even close,” Hammond says of the opportunity to portray the iconic senator.

Hammond is also widely known from his stand-up comedy and his time as the second-longest-running Saturday Night Live cast member, portraying notable newsmakers including Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Donald Trump among more than 100 others. He’s currently the announcer of the long-running program.

Dooley interned in a congressional office early in his career before beginning his work in New York theater as an actor and playwright. He spent time in the Dirksen Center's archives researching and reviewing Dirksen’s speeches to prepare his draft of the show. Much of Dirksen's dialogue comes from the senator's own public utterances and writings.

“I can’t wait for audiences to spend a little time with Everett Dirksen,” Dooley says. “His words will make you laugh, cry, and wish for more bipartisan public servants like him.”

Hammond is represented by CAA and by Megan Lohne of Lohne/Graham Management. Dooley is also represented by Lohne.

Dirksen’s elevated oratory and reputation for being at the center of political negotiations on key civil rights and foreign-policy legislation during the turbulent 1960s made him a household name across America. In an era before cable news and C-SPAN, Dirksen’s basso profundo voice and shock of curled hair helped put a face on an otherwise bland and gray U.S. Senate.

The show is set during Dirksen's final days as he's receiving treatments related to lung cancer at Walter Reed Medical Center. Famously accessible to the press, Dirksen holds a pre-interview with a young, Black woman television journalist helping prepare a profile on him. Their no-holds-barred discussion looks at the senator's life, his legacy on racial equality, and the political debates and personal tumult of the Vietnam War experienced by families across America.

Through it all, Dirksen's focus on principle and pragmatism are on display. So, too, is his reputation for theatrics, which was honed by years performing on stages from his hometown Pekin Union Mission theater to the well of the Senate.

"I think America today yearns for public servants like Everett Dirksen, who brought both humanity and dignity to the position of U.S. Senator," Dirksen Center Executive Director Tiffany White says. "He placed the good of the country above all else and was willing to work in good faith alongside even those with whom he disagreed in order to find common ground. Particularly as we approach the 60th anniversary of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act that Sen. Dirksen shepherded to passage, we really believe his values will resonate with audiences who miss that approach to leadership."

 

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