Source: NEIL GENZLINGER, http://www.nytimes.com

Aphrodite Plays Politics With Bill and Hillary

 

It's the time of year when theaters are taken over by old, familiar stories: "A Christmas Carol," "The Nutcracker," tales that, while beloved, also tend to be kind of boring because we know them by heart.

Jim Baldassare

Darren Pettie and Mia Barron as Bill and Hillary Clinton.

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Times Topics: Hillary Rodham Clinton

That makes the current production by New Georges something of a surprise, because the company has found new delights in one of the most familiar seasonal stories of all: the saga of Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Well, "seasonal" in the sense that it still feels like election season.

The play, by Wendy Weiner, merges elements of Greek tragedy (including a chorus) with real-life events to create a screwball version of recent history. It works remarkably well, considering that you may walk into the Living Theater, where the play is being staged, predisposed to think that it's way too early to revisit the Clinton presidency.

There is certainly nothing here that you've forgotten: Gennifer Flowers, Monica Lewinsky, the stained dress and the various signature quotations all come along on schedule. But it feels fresh at the same time that it feels like a flashback. That's largely because Athena (Heidi Armbruster) and Aphrodite (Victoire Charles) are hanging around.

Ms. Weiner focuses on Mrs. Clinton as both a heroic and a tragic figure. In this telling Hillary (Mia Barron), when she is still a girl dreaming of an adulthood in which a woman might pursue the presidency, pledges her devotion to Athena. Aphrodite, jealous, makes it her business to thwart Hillary, her principal weapon being the slick, charming Bill Clinton (Darren Pettie).

There is, admittedly, not a lot of character depth here, but Ms. Weiner and the director, Julie Kramer, maintain a tone just short of slapstick, which lets them serve up a variety of effective set pieces. The initial meeting of Bill and Hillary is rather sweet. Bill's testimony before Kenneth W. Starr's panel, complete with McDonald's French fries, is a hilarious dismantling of Mr. Clinton's real-life explanations.

The play, about 1 hour 45 minutes, ultimately feels long (or needs an intermission), but the laughs come steadily; Mr. Pettie makes a very entertaining Bill; and Ms. Barron offers a plausible transformation from college idealist to political survivor. As an added bonus, we find out what Eleanor Roosevelt has been doing since she died in 1962.

"Hillary: A Modern Greek Tragedy With a (Somewhat) Happy Ending" continues through Dec. 20 at the Living Theater, 21 Clinton Street, Lower East Side; (212) 868-4444, smarttix.com.

Source: NEIL GENZLINGER, http://www.nytimes.com

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