‘Partisan Theatrics’ to showcase new brand of humor

Talk about crossing party lines:  a new play hints at the possibility of Barack Obama and Sarah Palin having an affair.

The Bloomington Playwrights Project presents “Partisan Theatrics [or] Will Our Apple Fall Far from the Bush?” The play is intended to examine the silliness of electoral politics.

“Unlike ‘Saturday Night Live,’ which only parodies the politicians involved, we go after everything,” said Gabe Gloden, managing director of the Bloomington Playwrights Project. “We include political organizing, voting and registration, and the general public’s perceptions of the whole campaign.”

Partisan Theatrics is actually a series of short plays written by playwrights who spoof electoral politics. The play is part of the Dark Alley Series, which is late-night programming aimed at edgier audiences.

Could it be edgy enough to have a scene showing an affair between Obama and Palin?

“There is a piece that hints at that possibility,” Gloden said. “The playwright, Nick Moore, has done a great job spoofing the concept of celebrity and synthesis of popular culture as seen in People magazine and Us Weekly and politics.”

Gloden said he hopes the audience will appreciate the content of their play and that the reaction will be a good one.

“It’s all done very tongue-in-cheek, so I hope it’s laughter,” he said.

Gloden knows some people might not appreciate the idea, but he thinks audiences disenchanted with the political system will appreciate the play.

“It’s important to note that we try not to side with a particular candidate or show a bias in any way,” he said. “We simply find electoral politics to be incredibly funny.”

Michael Carey, the show’s producer, further exemplifies the desire to poke fun at everyone.

“We have a group of playwrights that includes Southerners, New Yorkers, a Los Angeleno and our own wonderful local writers,” Carey said. “Their writing is sharp and funny; their politics are as varied as their geography. This show isn’t going to let anyone slide, no matter who’s up or down in the polls.”

Senior Anna Strand, president of IU College Democrats, said she thinks it could be construed as distasteful, though she stressed that she is just speaking for herself and not the organization.

“I have a great appreciation for art, but I don’t know enough about the play to have an opinion on it,” Strand said.

She said she might be interested in seeing the play based on the premise.

“It sounds like an interesting premise–it would depend on the way it’s handled,” she said. “For the most part, that kind of ideal is kind of distasteful and not based in reality.”

Strand said she doesn’t believe the political process is ridiculous – just some of the people involved.

“I do not believe that this political process is ridiculous in any regard,” she said. “Unfortunately, there are actors in it who make questions that are distasteful.”

Junior Chelsea Kane, chairwoman of IU College Republicans, hasn’t heard much about the play but doesn’t see much of an issue with it.

“I’m a fairly open-minded person. I believe art is art,” she said. “We give a lot of license to actors to interpret things that might not happen in real life. Sarah Palin probably doesn’t approve, as she’s a married woman, and Barack Obama probably doesn’t approve, because he’s a married man.”

Kane said the Obama-Palin scene is reason enough for her to go see the show.

“I think that politics are the perfect thing to be mocked and the perfect thing to be laughed at,” Kane said. “They spend millions and millions of dollars promoting larger than life candidates. Politics are not only entertaining, but they are important.”
Gloden said he hopes  “Partisan Theatrics” will be seen as an intelligent satire.
“We take a no-holds-barred, anything-goes approach to comedy, but we do so with intelligence, I hope,” he said.


"Partisan Theatrics [or] will our apple fall far from Bush?"
When: 10 p.m., Nov. 3-5
Where: Bloomington Playwrights Project
Price: Tickets are $5, available at the door.