You gotta keep him here, Miss Jeffries. He’s the goose who laid the golden egg.
When local radio producer Marcia Jeffries interviews drunk drifter “Lonesome Rhodes” in his jail cell, she immediately sees his potential and gives him a slot on her show. But as Lonesome's fans grow more clamorous and the politicians start taking notice, Marcia realises she has unleashed a force she can no longer control.
Featuring original songs by Grammy Award-winner Elvis Costello, A Face in the Crowd highlights the dangers of elevating celebrities to positions of unchecked power. Young Vic Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah directs the world premiere of Sarah Ruhl’s (Eurydice, The Clean House) adaptation of the Hollywood classic.
__Assisted Performances__
BSL Performance: Tue 15 Oct, 7.30pm
Captioned Performances: Thu 26 Sep, 7.30pm & Sat 5 Oct, 2.30pm
Relaxed Performances: Sat 19 Oct, 2.30pm & Thu 24 Oct, 7.30pm
Sensory Adapted Performance: Thu 10 Oct, 7.30pm
Audio Described Performances: Tues 1 Oct, 7.30pm & Sat 26 Oct,
2.30pm.
With its cheery 1950s palette and poster-paint backdrop, Kwame Kwei-Armah’s production never quite breaks out of its one-dimensionality. Yes, the rhinestones and American flags and guns amass, and there’s a sense of drifting garishly into American nightmare. But, mostly, it has the satirical bite of a Hallmark movie, with the same romantic trajectory.
Do we vote with our brains or emotions? Music is emotion: it gets under the skin, another manipulator. Elvis Costello’s country style music and lyrics, ranging from advert jingles, folksy ballads, torch songs, female trios, barbershop quartet and ‘Hank Williams’ blues, buoys the production and at the same time slows it down, softens the bite. The “Face in the Crowd” refrain is catchy.
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