The Best Man at Keegan Theatre

The Best Man

Keegan Theatre
1742 Church Street, NW Washington

A darkly cynical drama about party compromise, complete with last-minute backroom deal-making, this revival of Gore Vidal's 1960 hit The Best Man is as timely and topical as ever. This inside look at the double- and triple-crossing that occurs during a presidential race tells the story of two men battling for the nomination, both of whom must choose between mudslinging and campaigning on the issues. The show's original Broadway production was nominated for six Tony Awards. Filled with Vidal's trademark verbal fire, this seminal political work, featuring Artistic Director Mark A. Rhea and Keegan company member Colin A. Smith, resonates as an exploration of how political and personal agendas can change the destiny of a nation.

Thru - Feb 22, 2014

Thursdays: 8:00pm

Fridays: 8:00pm

Saturdays: 8:00pm

Sundays: 3:00pm

Price: $30 - $35

Show Type: Comedy/Drama

Running Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes with 1 intermission

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The Best Man Reviews

Average Rating based on 6 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Washington Post - Somewhat Recommended

"...Neither Rhea nor Smith endows his character with any hint of interior life. The failure is particularly noticeable in Rhea's case, because Vidal intended Russell (essentially the play's hero) to have a whimsical side: This is a politician who quotes Oliver Cromwell to reporters and, when out of the public eye, amuses himself by reading omens into a hopscotch game he plays on patterned rugs. Rhea is not very convincing during an early hopscotch sequence, and thereafter all traces of whimsy go out the window. Like Smith, he spends a lot of time looking grimly flinty."

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- Celia Wren

DC Theater Arts - Highly Recommended

"...The Keegan Theatre's current production of Gore Vidal's political drama The Best Man is solid entertainment in the best sense of the word. Never having read the play or having seen any previous stage production, I had thought that I was going to see a political satire or a polemical and specialized piece of theatre -based on the essays I had read by Mr. Vidal. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to hear and experience such a cleverly constructed and well-written play that absorbs ones attention from beginning to end with a succession of brilliant lines and twists and turns. Performed by an exceptional cast and burnished with meticulous technical oversight and attention to detail, The Best Man is the most completely satisfying production I have ever seen at The Keegan Theatre."

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- David Friscic

MetroWeekly - Recommended

"...This is yet another Keegan production in which a large cast -- in this case a total of 16 actors -- fills the small stage space, allowing its veteran stage manager Megan Thrift to show off her dexterity as the theatrical equivalent of a station agent at a busy train terminal. Although she may be a bit too good at the job in this case: The Best Man is meant to emulate the raucous goings-on at a political convention in Philadelphia. Thrift's Keegan Station is a little too ho-hum to sub as that city's 30th Street Station. And Dan Deiter's sound effects of shouting delegates, heard every so often when the candidates' hotel suite doors are opened, are a little too canned to be convincing."

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- Doug Rule

ShowBizRadio - Recommended

"...Originally opening in March 1960, The Best Man was likely intended as a commentary on contemporary events. In its revivals, including two Broadway productions this century as well as the current staging at Keegan, the play can't help becoming something of a nostalgia piece about a style of politicking long since relegated to the history books. But most nostalgia exercises don't benefit from the dark wit and satirical edge of Vidal, whose palpable delight in skewering people and institutions, along with several strong performances from the Keegan company, keep life in the old script yet."

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- Bob Ashby

MD Theatre Guide - Recommended

"...Generally speaking, American theatregoers hate mixing politics and art: they almost always prefer the juicy personal drama, the edgy dysfunctional family comedy, or the sexy musical melodrama where heartstrings are plucked and voices quake. That's why even hit TV shows like Scandal, where political machinations are the theme of each episode, the producers make the goings on so hyperbolic as to make them scandalously absurd. Thus Scandal becomes not so much about the politics as about how each episode tops the preceding one in outrageousness. Of course, those lusty scenes do not hurt the ratings either."

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- Robert Michael Oliver