06:24:31 am 
Farragut North - Dive Back into Presidential Politics, With Some Sharks
Categories: UncategorizedOpening a cynical political play about double-dealing by two opposing Democratic presidential candidates' camps in the weeks leading up to the Iowa caucuses may not strike theatergoers as particularly astute in these heady days following the election of Barack Obama. Yet, there is so much to enjoy and contemplate in Beau Willimon's crackling and incisive Farragut North, which opened last night at the Atlantic Theater Company in Chelsea, that theatergoers accept the darker aspects of the play and do not allow it to ruin any celebratory sensation that remains from last week's election.
"North" centers on Stephen (John Gallagher, Jr.), a wunderkind media guy who's working for candidate Morris. Stephen may only be 25, but this is not his first campaign. He's been through the wringer in New York, and actually has been handpicked by the candidate and the candidate's campaign manager, Paul (played with wonderfully crude bonhomie and sometimes startling aggression by Chris Noth). When Tom (a superlative turn from Isiah Whitlock, Jr.), the campaign manager for the other camp calls Stephen, asking for a meeting, Stephen can't resist. He shows up at an out-of-the-way restaurant and learns from the older man that Morris' ship very well might be sinking. Tom has a solution for Stephen and his career, though: he should join Tom's campaign.
What motivates Stephen to take the meeting with Tom remains a mystery even after "North" has reached its uncomfortable, but very satisfying, conclusion. Audiences do leave knowing full well what both campaign leaders, including Stephen, will do to save their own skins and those of their candidates. It's not pretty, but for those with a taste for venom in their politics and theatergoing, "North" can be absolutely delectable.
Part shark with killer instincts and part young adult with hallmarks of the arrogance that accompanies pre-middle age, Stephen is a fascinating character and in Gallagher's mercurial and edgy – one would expect nothing else from the actor who originated the role of Mortiz in Spring Awakening – performance, theatergoers have the chance to experience both sides of this character, sometimes simultaneously. This is particularly true when Stephen's around Molly (imbued with a genuine earnest goodness and much more by Olivia Thirlby), a 19-year-old intern who, herself, is something of a predator.
If Stephen allows himself to get a little starry-eyed around Molly, he's a hardened-beyond-his-years flak through and through when he's around Ida (played with an equal level of toughness by Kate Blumberg), a "Times" reporter who's covering the campaign, and who has had a mutually beneficial professional relationship with Stephen for many years.
Director Doug Hughes, with the assistance of David Korins' scenic design, gives Willimon's play a taut and fluid staging. Scenes are, appropriately enough, punctuated by Joshua White's projections that bring the electronic nature of the campaign trail vividly to life, and for those still suffering from post-election season overload, perhaps, White's work and "North" might prove to be too strenuous. But, for those with a taste for a look at politics as espionage and glimpse into a young man's true coming-of-age against the cutthroat world of presidential campaigning, Willimon's play should prove to be just the ticket.
---- Andy Propst
Farragut North plays at the Atlantic Theater Company (336 West 20th Street). Performances are Tuesday through Friday at 8pm; Saturday at 2 and 8pm; and Sunday at 3 and 7pm. Tickets are $65.00 and can be purchased by calling TicketCentral at 212-279-4200 or by visiting www.TicketCentral.com. Further information is available online at www.AtlanticTheater.org.
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