Gore Vidal's The Best Man (2012 Tony Award nominee, Best Play Revival) is now on Broadway in an all-star theatrical event with two time Tony Award winner James Earl Jones, Tony and Emmy Award winner John Larroquette, Golden Globe Award winner Cybill Shepherd, Emmy Award nominee John Stamos, Emmy Award nominee Kristin Davis, Tony Award winner Jefferson Mays, Obie Award winner Mark Blum and Tony Award winner Elizabeth Ashley.
A play about power, ambition, political secrets and the race for the presidency, GORE VIDAL’S THE BEST MAN will be directed by Michael Wilson, who recently directed the acclaimed epic production of Horton Foote’s The Orphans Home Cycle Part I,II and III at The Signature Theatre Company as well as the recent Dividing The Estate on Broadway. GORE VIDAL’S THE BEST MAN was Vidal’s second play following the success of his international comedy hit, Visit to a Small Planet.
Two powerful party elders dog the efforts of both would-be candidates. Sue-Ellen Gamadge, chairman of the “Women’s Division” is played with jolly antiquity by Angela Lansbury. Former President Arthur Hockstader, whose illness has not dampened his raffish charm, is played commandingly by James Earl Jones. That both of these great stars are somewhat miscast (and Jones was doing battle with some of his lines at a critics’ preview) mattered little to the demonstrative audience (or to me). Jefferson Mays makes a late appearance as a shadow from Cantwell’s past and just about steals the show.
The most prominent graphic element on the new Best Man poster is the list of names of the stars of the show. There is a general rule of thumb about movies that if the ad features numerous boxes with pictures of each star and the caption “[star] as [role]” that the movie is likely to be a dog. That is not the case here. Nearly every role is cast with thespian royalty, including Michael McKean as an aide and Jefferson Mays as a character who has dirt on one of the candidates. Even Donna Hanover, the former first lady of New York, has a small role as a reporter in her Broadway debut. Most of the actors deliver. The exceptions, though, undermine the production: Eric McCormack as the slick candidate and Kerry Butler as his catty Southern belle wife. They are not just wrong-headed but whiny-voiced and annoying. This is not comic caricature, or at least not successful caricture. They just seem the result of inadequate stage craft. That this is so is both disappointing and completely baffling.
1960 | Broadway |
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2000 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
2012 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
2018 | West End |
West End Limited Engagement West End |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2012 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Angela Lansbury |
2012 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Bonnie Comley |
2012 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | 0 |
2012 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Sound Design in a Play | John Gromada |
2012 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Angela Lansbury |
2012 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | John Larroquette |
2012 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Revival of a Play | 0 |
2012 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | James Earl Jones |
2012 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Angela Lansbury |
2012 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | 0 |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play | James Earl Jones |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Gore Vidal's The Best Man |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Jeffrey Richards |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Jerry Frankel |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | INFINITY Stages |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Universal Pictures Stage Productions |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Barbara Manocherian |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Michael Palitz |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Bonnie Comley |
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