Thursday, October 23, 2008

On Theatre and Politics - Matthew Freeman: If You See Something Say Something:

Last night, Pam and I caught a preview of Mike Daisey's new monologue If You See Something Say Something at Joe's Pub.

We loved it. As much as I enjoyed and was engaged by How Theater Failed America, I think I this piece is stronger. Daisey's interlocking narratives of his own visit to Los Alamos, Sam Cohen's work on the Neutron Bomb (particularly harrowing and bizarre) and the history of "Homeland Security" create a psychological portait of our most destructive impulses.

The piece is puncuated perfectly by his writerly style and appealing performance. It's topical, certainly liberal, but never detached or sophmorically infuriated. Daisey has more than an instinct for a good story: he has a curiousity that augments the entire proceedings.

11:04 AM