They say there are two subjects that are traditionally off-limits for bar conversation: religion and politics. But if you ever feel like tossing a match into a powder keg, there is one convenient topic you can bring up at your local watering hole that touches on both: the war in Iraq.
And what the heck. If you’re going to stir up a hornet’s nest, why not turn it into a musical to boot?
That’s exactly what Paul Cross, writer/director of “Iraq War: The Musical!,” did in a stroke of genius and insanity. And while the show is utterly ridiculous (for instance President Bush tries to sign documents in crayon and plays with action figures while Dick Cheney dines on roast kitten), Cross does an excellent job of presenting the facts, while making the audience laugh and squirm simultaneously.
And the strong, catchy music by Christopher Carey will have you tapping your toes to the most absurd of spectacles — a near-strip tease by Condoleezza Rice, a love/hate duet sung by Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, and even, gulp, a rapping Bush, a.k.a. “G-Dub.”
But make no mistake, there is anger and frustration underlying even the bounciest tunes and the most absurd dialogue. And Cross doesn’t pull any punches. The opening number “It’s Iraq!” ruthlessly skewers not only the way the Bush administration conflated Hussein with the 9/11 attacks, it also takes the American public to task for the way we allowed ourselves to be duped.
And while the show moves along nicely with a good blend of dialogue and musical numbers, Cross occasionally lets his anger get the better of him. Cheney growling about how “there will never be a black president,” and jokes about a game ranch stocked with “brown people” elicited audible groans from the audience.
But this is satire, and satire is supposed to make people uncomfortable. It should make people question what they think they already know, and shake up their assumptions.
Which might be another problem: One has to assume Cross is preaching to the choir. If you have a friend or relative who is a dyed-in-the- wool Bill O’Reilly fan and supporter of this administration’s policies, taking him to see this show is absolutely not the way to get him to reconsider his position.
But whether Cross has audiences who are already sympathetic to his point of view, there is information aplenty here, albeit presented in a ludicrously over-the-top manner, and some of the facts he lays out may be new to some audience members.
He eviscerates Halliburton’s “cost-plus” scheme that has wasted billions of taxpayer dollars, the long-standing financial and personal ties between the Bush and bin Laden families, and the weird but true fact that more than 100 Saudi nationals were flown out of the country on 9/11 with no questions asked, while the rest us were grounded for three days.
The show has a few rough edges, missed sound cues and the like, and opening night the crew still had some adjustments to make — either turn down the music or mic the performers, guys. But overall it is a show with a lot of promise.
As Bush, Matthew Jordan Kyle carries a great deal of the load, and he acquits himself nicely as the boy preznint, right down to Bush’s odd chortle at the end of each sentence. Mark Shonsey’s sensitive bin Laden is also dead-on, as is Joshua Peter Smith’s Hussein.
Another bright point is Galloway Allbright’s Tony Blair, fetching Bush’s dry cleaning and joining a good ol’ boy hunting party dressed in traditional English fox-hunting attire. A scene where he tries to explain to a distracted Bush the difficulties of carving up the Middle East while the former pulls toys from his Spider-Man backpack is brilliant. Also, Webster Pennington as Colin Powell throwing a tantrum before the U.N. as he tries to make the case for invasion is hilarious.
Let’s face it: There are so many targets ripe for parody in this administration’s eight-year reign that Cross could write a sequel. Or two.
“Iraq War: The Musical!” *** (out of four stars)
Political satire Presented by The Bug Theatre, 3654 Navajo St., Denver. Written and directed by Paul Cross with musical director Christopher Carey. Starring Matthew Jordan Kyle, Matt Fogel, Mark Shonsey, Laurel Patterson, Galloway Allbright, Joshua Peter Smith, Webster Pennington, Frank Haas, Sam Tallent, Paul Hitchcock, Kyle Stockburger, Tarika Cefkin. 1 hour, 56 minutes. Through Aug. 31. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. $20-$21. 303-477-9984,
This week’s openings
Through Aug. 18: Shadow’ Youth Theatre’s “Twilight’s Last Gleaming”
Shadow, Colorado’s only company that presents theater through a black lens, introduces theater to kids as a way to explore their roots and empower their future. Students are paid a stipend to undergo a five-week crash course, culminating in a professionally produced show of their conception. “Gleaming” is inspired by Anna Deavere Smith’s “Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992,” her dramatization of the civil unrest that followed the Rodney King trial in Los Angeles. The teens interviewed, wrote, workshopped and will perform their material, which has been honed into a three-act play with the help of Shadow playwright Hugo Jon Sayles and Brian Freeland, artistic director of Denver’s politically charged Countdown to Zero theater company.
1468 Dayton St., Aurora, 720-857-8000 or
Through Sept. 6: Buntport’s “The Three Musketeers”
Denver’s only all-original theater company here explores the exhumation, transportation, and internment of Alexandre Dumas’ remains at the Panthéon of Paris in it’s own comically intellectual and inventive way.
717 Lipan St., Denver, 720-946-1388 or
Through Aug. 17: Augustana Arts’ “Titanic”
With music as beautiful as the voyage was tragic, “Titanic: attempts to capture the pathos of the night the famous ship went down. A full orchestra and more than 40 actors bring the passengers and crew to life as elation turns to disbelief, then despair, then … hope. Broadway staging won five Tonys, including best musical.
At the Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 S. Allison Parkway, 303-987-7845 or
Friday and Saturday only: Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center’s “Defending the Caveman”
The longest running solo play in Broadway history, starring Colorado’s own Cody Lyman, returns to Colorado Springs for a final engagement of three performances. This comedy about the sexes played on Broadway for two years – more than 700 performances – and how noe been perormed in more than 30 countries in more than 20 languages. It’s an observational monologue about the ways men and women relate.
30 W. Dale St., Colorado Springs, 719-634-5583 or
Aug. 11-16: Bas Bleu’s “Duet for One”
The award-winning British play by Tom Kempinski about a world-famous concert violinist named Stephanie Anderson who is suddenly struck with multiple sclerosis. The story is loosely based on the life of cellist Jacqueline du Pré, who was diagnosed with MS, and her husband, conductor Daniel Barenboim. Starring Wendy Ishii and Jonathan Farwell.
401 Pine St., Fort Collins, 970-498-8949 or
