…[Colin] Smith’s Cantwell is a thoroughly credible Nixon-like figure (even to his five o’clock shadow), desperate to win and almost preferring to do so by foul means rather than fair…One of the strengths of Smith’s performance is that he allows the audience not only to see the unlikable traits of his character but also how Cantwell’s anger and resentment would resonate with voters.
The most powerful character, and most powerful performance, of the play is [Kevin] Adams’ Hockstader. With a folksy demeanor linked to a razor-sharp mind and a keen sense of what it means to acquire and exercise power, Hockstader unflinchingly faces reality, not only that of politics but of his own mortality…
Among the supporting cast, Michael Innocenti stands out as a frightened rabbit of a man bearing damaging information about Cantwell, while Rena Cherry Brown is perfect as a party committeewoman determined to make sure that the candidates appeal to “the woman’s point of view,” as she sees it in those pre-Betty Friedan days. Alice Russell (Sheri Herren) is a shy woman…who despite her estrangement from her philandering husband is willing to play the supportive political wife…Susan Marie Rhea plays Alice’s counterpart, Mabel Cantwell, as a blowsy good ol’ gal who is genuinely in love with her husband, shares his ambitions, and is considerably brighter than she seeks to appear…
The set (Michael Innocenti) features a spacious suite in a hotel that is showing its age, complete to the wrinkled fabric on the sofa…The sound design (Dan Deiter) is strong on sounds from the convention floor that the candidates hear directly or on television…The costumes (Erin Nugent) are period-appropriate, down to the men’s narrow ties…
