As the dramatic events in Wisconsin escalate toward Tuesday's recalls, a new theatrical production is playing to sold-out houses and enthusiastic acclaim in Madison: The Lamentable Tragedie of Scott Walker, Govnour of Wisconsin.
You may have encountered the work of Madison playwright/director Doug Reed going viral on Facebook in early March. He's the author of the thoughtful, conversation-opening An Open Letter to My Conservative Family & Friends about Scott Walker's so-called budget-repair bill, the legislation that sparked such a response in Wisconsin. In the Lamentable Tragedie, Doug takes the events and people surrounding that bill, and the ensuing protest, and re-presents them (us) in an Elizabethan drama in "Fakespeare" style.
I was there on opening night, as was a reviewer from Madison's Isthmus who summarized the show like this, in her review Broom Street's The Lamentable Tragedie of Scott Walker is smart, funny and moving:
The Lamentable Tragedie of Scott Walker, running through Sept. 4, is a mock Shakespearean tragedy complete with iambic pentameter, soliloquies, swordfights and of course codpieces. It's clear Reed is a Shakespearean fanboy and ye olde blends seamlessly with ye new.
The story spans 30 days, from the day the character modeled on Gov. Scott Walker announces a budget repair bill to the day he signs it, and follows the kingly court of Walker and the Fitzgeralds, the Fab 14 Democratic senators, a ragtag team of protesters, and Walker's court jester, a public servant with a Tiny Tim-like son (played gloriously for laughs by Nolan Veldey) who relies on BadgerCare.
Here's how I put it on my personal blog:
The play takes the form of "Fakespeare," telling the Wisconsin 2011 story in lively Bardic borrowings and transformations. This English-major would see it again just for the thrill of trying to keep track of how many snippets from the canon I could identify! The tragically over-reaching, self-absorbed yet un-self-aware Walker character wreaks his administration upon the state of Wisconsin, eminently recognizable as our governor, with moments as Hamlet, Macbeth, and even Juliet!
The play incorporates vivid memories for those who have been following Wisconsin's tale:
-- the brew of toxic ALEC directives funnelled into Walker's legislation
-- the roar of round-the-clock protests in the cold of a Wisconsin February
-- the coordinated departure of the "Fab 14" Democratic state senators to prevent the bill's passage
-- Walker's sycophantic response to the prank phone call from "David Koch"
-- the threat to call out the National Guard on our peaceful protests
Again from the Isthmus:
The script itself is breathtaking -- rapid-fire wordplay, a laugh-out-loud moment in nearly every line, and a startling idea density for a play with so many dick jokes. I was moved to tears on four separate occasions.
It's no secret which side the playwright favors, but the conservative characters are more than puppets for his message. Their motivations are believable and their arguments make sense. I wouldn't go so far as to call them sympathetic, but they're fully drawn.
I agree entirely about the breath-taking script, with laughter and tears and so much food for thought. I'd've said "codpiece jokes" myself; codpieces do figure prominently (as it were) in the costumes for the majority-party characters, cleverly invoking the party-line hubris and self-satisfaction that has been so brazenly on display in the Capitol these past months.
Full disclosure -- Mr. AnnieJo (aka A FIB in Cheddarland) and I have a personal stake in this play, along with many of our friends who take part in the production as players, costumers, tech and beyond. Mr. AnnieJo contributed a recorded electric-guitar solo to be "played" on the court jester's lyre. The jester-Fool and his Cratchit-family have additional resonances for us as well, as I've blogged elsewhere. They're not just surrogates for aspects of our situation, though. They represent thousands upon thousands of ordinary folks, people who rely on medical assistance or serve in public-sector jobs, upon whom this legislation is such an attack.
Meanwhile, the Lamentable Tragedie has garnered national attention via the Rachel Maddow blog!
It's heady stuff for a local show playing at an experimental theatre, but this is an inspired play at a pivotal moment, with all eyes on Wisconsin.
The real-life drama in Wisconsin is still being written, as the big recall vote to unseat six Republican state senators finally takes place tomorrow. I've got to believe that the Wisconsin story, and the national one as well, will eventually have a hopeful rather than tragic outcome! We've been working so hard toward Tuesday's elections, and we must be prepared to continue the struggle, whatever tomorrow's results may show.