The Tragedy of JFK (as told by Wm. Shakespeare)

Reviewed by Sheena Metal
The Blank Theatre/The Skylight Theatre
Through November 5th

RECOMMENDED

If you like your modern dramas blended with classic theater and infused with historical conspiracies, then The Tragedy of JFK (as told by Wm. Shakespeare) is the play for you. Conceived, adapted and directed by Daniel Henning, The Blank Theatre’s longtime artistic director, and a decades-long JFK aficionado, The Tragedy of JFK, a world premiere, is a visceral look at one of America’s saddest events. The show invites you to put on your foil hat and follow its creator down the road of possibility, searching for answers to one of the most talked-about murders of the 20^th century.

The Tragedy of JFK thrusts the audience back in time to the tumultuous decade of the 1960s. It mixes audio and video footage from the period with live acting — and sometimes breaks the fourth wall, immersing the audience in the fall of Kennedy’s Camelot. The Kennedys —John, Robert Jackie — are represented, along with the Johnsons (Lyndon and Ladybird), J. Edgar Hoover, Martin Luther King, Lee Harvey Oswald and more. It’s a cast of characters that’s already Shakespearean in scope. And then, Henning adds Shakespeare into the mix.

Because The Tragedy of JFK, is adapted from Julius Caesar and Henning has fit each bit of American history into this amazing Elizabethan work with such finesse, it‘s as if Shakespeare himself had modernized his play. So well are the styles merged that it takes only five minutes of dialogue or so for the audience to forget the 1600’s and feel planted in the 1960’s.

Although much of the ease of that transition can be attributed to Henning’s writing and directorial innovation, the skill of the ensemble cannot be ignored. Tony Abatemarco gives a virtually flawless performance as Hoover, as slick as he is sinister. Time Winters is equally as wonderful as LBJ, a man with dreams of grandeur and a conflicted conscience. Probably the most compelling performance is Chad Brannon’s Bobby Kennedy. As an audience member, you see and feel so much of the story through his eyes, connecting to the play through his love for his brother, his ambition, his unwavering fight for justice and the pain and horror he experiences during the events on and following, November 22, 1963.

But it’s not just the 17-person ensemble which works to perfect Henning’s vision. Sydney Russell’s set design and Warren Davis’ sound enable the audience to further suspend disbelief and be transposed fifty years in the past for nearly two hours. Naila Aladdin Sanders’ costume design and Judi Luwin’s hair, wigs and makeup are exceptional, and add to the aura of the period

Smart, intense and emotionally powerful, The Tragedy of JFK will move you, inspire you, haunt you and sometimes make you laugh and bring you to tears. Daniel Henning has outdone himself, both with his writing and with his direction and, with a little help from Shakespeare, he may just have created a new American classic.

The Blank Theatre/The Skylight Theatre, 1816 North Vermont Avenue, Los Feliz; Fri., 8:30 p.m.; Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through November 5. (213) 760-7061 or www.theblank.com. Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes with no intermission.