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Preview of a Premiere |
KENNEDY |
It takes a brave man to write, direct, produce and star all in the same show, but this has not stopped Ron Hunting from the attempt, and from what I have heard, he has been successful. Unfortunately, I was ill the evening I was supposed to see and review KENNEDY and was unable to attend the performance, but I have received reports from what I consider very reliable sources that Algonquin Theater Company is presenting a show that is definitely worth your taking the trip to Peoria to see. The format of KENNEDY is essentially a conversation between this illustrious President and the audience, following his election and subsequent few years in office. Its format often eliminates the fourth wall. The staging makes use of four simple walkways as well as a TV screen aimed at the audience where actors join them for a simulated press conference, There are also slide projections linking real events with the actors recreating those events.(Unfortunately, I have been told these slides were not always well lit.) The setting as well as the documentary- like aspects of the show are simple but mostly effective. In essence, KENNEDY is a paean of praise for JFK; only his strengths not his weaknesses are shown, but the show is neither wordy nor saccharin in its presentation. It is a romp through history, a retrospective of what some still consider the CAMELOT years in America, so if JFK was not your favorite, you may find it a bit too laudatory. However, my bet is an audience will not deny the top notch caliber of acting by the three flexible thespians who play a myriad of parts, portraying the various people in Kennedy’s life. Joy Bingham Strimple, Robert Holt, and TA Burrows have worked long and hard to perfect their characterizations. Algonquin Theater Company has established itself as a group which is willing to take a chance on new and different plays. Certainly this premiere performance of KENNEDY falls in that category. |