Review: THE MINUTES at Keegan Theatre
I have not seen an ensemble and production of this quality at the Keegan Theatre in a long time.
Ninety minutes of a play that detail the utter pompousness, redundancies, calls to “shelve” or postpone important actions, and the ignoring of vital new community comments, are only some of the bureaucratic and provincial rules, regulations, and idiocies of what can constitute The Minutes of a city council meeting. Esteemed author Tracy Letts (August: Osage County, Superior Donuts) continually surprises and disorients the playgoer as he shifts writing tone in his phenomenal play The Minutes.
To describe the actions of the fictional town council meeting of Big Cherry --from factual minutiae- to disturbing procedural changes- to complacency- and, finally, to complete disarray and acceptance of alternate reality,---Mr. Letts allows the playgoer to eventually understand that this play is a microcosmic rendering of the fracturing of the democratic process.
On the intimate Keegan Theatre stage space, the eleven actors all convey distinct personalities that author Letts intends----soon, however, the dry and understated wit and irony of Mr. Letts’ writing peels away at the hypocrisy and pretensions of these characters. The audience soon sees how easily these characters can succumb to compromise, give in to complacency, and even selfishly accept the complete distortion of historical facts.
Under the taut and assured direction of Susan Marie Rhea, the play moves like a coiled snake –seemingly placid at first, and full of the many mundane details that are enough to frustrate the most dogged council (or committee---Mr. Letts is obviously satirizing all committees as well as councils) member. Soon, however, Letts’ sharp eye and ear for human foibles explodes and infighting and anarchic disarray ensues as the various characters jockey for one -upmanship and power.
The play contains too many interesting tidbits to give the development/story away but suffice it to say that the comic and quirky-yet, dramatic tone never lets up. The theft of bicycles, the proposal of a newly designed park fountain, and the idea for a “Lincoln Smackdown” are all discussed during the tragicomic proceedings. Soon the audience is plunged into two alternately dramatic versions of the history of the town of Big Cherry.
Adding to this tension is the constant questioning of the idealistic and somewhat callow new council member Mr. Peel (a winning, natural performance by Stephen Russell Murray) as to the whereabouts of “the minutes” from a previous meeting ----in the previous meeting, Mr. Carp brought up information on the history of the town of Big Cherry that the other members of the council want to keep hidden (as a result, Mr. Carp is taken off of the council).
Under Ms. Rhea’s brilliant and perceptive direction, I was given a sense of the distinct personalities of the council members, but Ms. Rhea was wise enough to let the sublime “text” of the play do the acting. This theatrical piece is a triumph of ensemble acting and, very luckily, no single actor strains or indicates for effect. Each actor is part of a cohesive whole and each actor quite appropriately delivers their lines with the straightest face and the utmost businesslike demeanor---any comic or dramatic moments arise naturally from Mr. Letts’ glorious lines. The sublime ensemble includes Ray Ficca, Stephen Russell Murray, Timothy H. Lynch, Valerie Adams Rigsbee, Brett Earnest, Barbara Klein, Katie McManus, Michael McGovern, Dominique Gray, Zach Brewster-Geisz, and Theo Hadjimichael.
Kafka-esque paranoia and angst pervades the concluding segments of the play as I questioned why there is so much secretiveness in a city council meeting that will not allow too much leeway from any member who has a more iconoclastic or idealistic point of view,---even for the community’s own good. An ambiance hovers over the play that is akin to a cult or a strict fraternity demanding complete subservience to its conformist and insane strictures.
The play could serve as a microcosmic template for the unraveling of the democratic process itself as nobody on the council is allowed to question the past and/or to solidly think about creative solutions for the future. Survival only in the present for the sake of the children is encouraged: This play has frightening parallels to our present moment in time.
On the proscenium stage of the intimate Keegan Theatre, scenic designer and technical director Josh Sticklin works wonders as he has developed a wood-paneled meeting space that encompasses the entire stage space. Victorian lighting adds texture to the set –under the supervisory gaze of scenic director Brodie Steele .
Lighting design by Dominic DeSalvio is outstanding .
Like the Keegan Theatre’s superb examination of the audacious and inane probing of the electoral process in the 2022 political comedy The Outsider, this play is a thoughtful play for adults. I have not seen an ensemble and production of this quality at the Keegan Theatre in a long time.
The Keegan Theatre has delivered an extremely cohesive ensemble cast in a meticulous and absorbing production of Tracy Letts’ The Minutes.
Running Time: Ninety minutes with no intermission
The Minutes runs through May 3, 2026, at the Keegan Theatre located at 1742 Church Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20036.
Photo credit: The company of Keegan Theatre's production of The Minutes.
Photo by Cameron Whitman.
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