Theatre Review by Ron Fassler . . .
Political satire isn’t an easy thing to pull off. Ask the folks at Saturday Night Live who’ve been doing it for fifty years (and those are just sketches that last a few minutes each). With a full-length lampoon, the critical issue is how to sustain things up to 90 minutes or so. The Ghost of John McCain, currently at the SoHo Playhouse, clocks in at just about that and sadly has worn out its welcome by then. It’s not without its funny moments and its cast is game for anything, but you really have to hit the mark consistently for something like this to work.
The premise of Ghost of John McCain is that upon his death, instead of being in purgatory, heaven, or hell, maverick Senator John McCain instead lands in a tacky hotel as if designed by Trump and his late ex-wife Ivana. He can’t move up or down without kowtowing to Trump and admitting he was the best President who ever lived. And that’s it. You can see where this is going. Lots of jokes at the expense of everyone from the two protagonists to Clarence Thomas, Hilary Clinton, Lindsay Graham, and just about everyone else you can imagine—even Teddy Roosevelt—thrown into the mix.
The book is by Scott Elmegreen, who has a number of credits as a composer and arranger. And with the music and lyrics the work of Drew Fornarola, who is also a playwright, it’s possible they swapped specialities. There is also a credit in the program that says the play is conceived by Grant Woods and Jason Rose. Lots of cooks, though that’s par for the course when drumming up musical satire (again, think SNL). Perhaps that’s why a lot of stuff is just thrown around and what sticks, sticks. The catch-as-catch can nature of things is part of its charm and also part of why it lacks cohesiveness. And I wish the music and lyrics rose to a higher level of achievement. In an effort to tell the story in different styles (there’s everything from rap to a Broadway show tune), nothing lifts past the level of ditties composed for children’s theatre.
The cast is a talented one. Jason Tam is a lovely actor and singer, though maybe not the right choice to portray John McCain. Decades younger, it’s understandable that casting a man in his seventies would be a lot harder, what with the demands of singing and dancing and the character barely leaving the stage. Conversely, the youthful casting of Luke Kolbe Mannikus as Donald Trump is spot on. This is where the creatives earn a gold star because their concept of Trump is that in his mind he’s a twelve-year-old spoiled child (or at least the writers think of him that way). Bouncing off the walls from all the Diet Coke he drinks, Mannikus plays his little Trump in a big broad manner that’s very entertaining. He doesn’t attempt the voice either, which is a good thing, because when the voice of the real DT is piped in early on, it prompted me to wish there had been a Trigger Warning outside before entering the theatre.
Ben Fankhauser is versatile and funny as Roy Cohn, Lindsay Graham, Joe Biden and Heaven’s Gatekeeper. I particularly liked Lindsay Nicole Chambers, who has a great singing voice and comic flair. Zonya Love was never more funny than playing Covid (you have to see the costume) as well as Evita (did you know Andrew Lloyd Webber is Trump’s favorite composer?). Aaron Michael Ray is a large presence who knows how to get his laughs whether he’s the bombastic Teddy Roosevelt or the eerily quiet Clarence Thomas. It’s an impressive group.
Director Catie Davis has done a nice job with a fairly outsize budget for an off Broadway musical. The set by Lawrence E. Moten II is functional and funny and Ashley Rae Callahan does a commendable job with an an array of hair and wig designs. Lighting by Colleen Doherty is festive (and moody when appropriate) and the costumes by Mieka Van Der Ploeg are spot on (Hillary’s red pants suit a particular standout).
Another little show bursting with outrageous political comedy is currently packing them in on Broadway after a similar humble start. In stark contrast, Oh, Mary consistently hits the bullseye. The Ghost of John McCain often has trouble just hitting the target.
The Ghost of John McCain is at the SoHo Playhouse, 15 Vandam Street, NYC in a limited engagement through November 10th. For further information, please visit https://ghostofjohnmccain.com.
Photos by: Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade & Rebecca J Michaelson (curtain call)
Headline photo: Ben Fankhauser as Lindsay Graham in The Ghost of John McCain.
