BWW Reviews: THE BEST MAN Not the Best of Kansas City

Gore Vidal's The Best Man a political drama is the current production of the Olathe Civic Theatre Association in Olathe, Kan. The play, which opened on November 7, runs through November 21. John Robinson directs the OCTA production stating in the playbill that it had been 15 years since he had done drama and had sworn he would never do drama again. Perhaps he should have stayed true to that conviction.

The Best Man premiered on Broadway in 1960 and received six nominations for Tony Awards, including Best Play. Set in Philadelphia it is an outdated play, which strives to give a backroom look at politics of that era. Unfortunately, most of the wit and humor of Vidal no longer packs the punch it did in 1960. Even more unfortunately, most of the issues facing the two candidates are now commonplace with every election. I question the judgment of the OCTA board selecting The Best Man and staging it following tedious months of political advertisements on television.

Senator Joseph Cantwell and Secretary William Russell both are vying for their party's nomination for President of the United States. Russell has been running a clean campaign and is threatening Cantwell's efforts to be nominated. Cantwell has found some dirt on his fellow candidate, threatening to use it if Russell does not withdraw from the political arena.

Russell then becomes privy to damaging information about Cantwell and is hesitant to use it at the convention. On the urging of Ex-President Arthur Hockstader, he agrees to confront the senator with the details, in an attempt to get him to withdraw the information about Russell's psychological wellbeing.

The OCTA presentation was sluggish, outdated, and seemed that it would go on forever. I felt envious of the ex-president when in the play he got extremely ill and left the stage. Luckily, for the ex-president Vidal has him dying in the second act. The production beat him to it, dying in the first act.

Two outstanding performances, those of Tom Sutton as Ex-President Hockstader and Anna Koehler as Alice Russell the secretary's wife, delighted the audience. Both actors were very natural, their dialogue flowing as if they were alone in a room speaking with the other characters and not on a stage. Facial expressions and body language of Sutton helped to bring a few minor laughs from the audience.

Regrettably, the remainder of the company delivered their lines and reactions as if forced and lacking conviction. Meghann Bates as Mabel Cantwell and Doug Ford as the senator energetically delivered their lines, but the energy was not enough to save the performances.

If you have not had enough politics set before you over recent months then you should definitely see The Best Man. Purchase tickets by calling the Reservation Hotline at 913-782-2990 or online at the Olathe Civic Theatre Association website. Photo courtesy of Olathe Civic Theatre Association.

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