The Room
The Open Fist is presenting a fascinating play THE ROOM written and directed by Michael Franco. The play takes place in a secret apartment owned by Vincent Astor (heir to the Astor fortune after J.J. Astor went down in the Titanic) during the years 1927 to 1939 and also at the El Morocco Night Club. Stalinist Communism was sweeping Eastern Europe and the Nazis were making their move in Germany and eventually the rest of Western Europe. Vincent Astor gathered his rich and influential friends Kermit Roosevelt (son of Teddy), Marshall Field, Nelson Doubleday, Somerset Maugham, Dorothy Thompson, William Rhinelander, Sinclair Lewis, Winthrop Aldrich, and Wild Bill
Donovan to discuss the unfolding events in the world and our slow response here at home in the U.S.A. America really dragged her feet until she was attacked at Pearl Harbor. According to playwright Franco America is currently in a state of denial about what is going on in Washington and around the world. We get to peak into the lives of businessmen who were sometimes torn between civic concerns and the chance to make lots of money (think Blackwater.) The cast is excellent and I particularly liked Shawn MacAulay as Vincent Astor as the driving moral heart to this group. John Gegenhuber as the alcoholic Roosevelt (he is drunk the entire play and never drops it for a minute) Amanda Weier as the acerbic Dorothy Thompson, the always- excellent Weston Blakesley as the greedy Prescott Bush and Vincent’s manservant, and Donna Gilfin as the lounge singer (she sings beautifully many period songs), were all standouts in this talented group. There was an onstage band consisting of a bass fiddle and a vibe and piano-playing
Alexander Burke They provide a live soundtrack to these secret goings-on
and really help set a mood for the play. I should also mention the terrific set by Michael Franco that consists of a gorgeous red drape, some exquisite upholstered chairs, and some eight or ten crystal light fixtures. Though these meetings were disbanded, they served as the basis for the founding of the Office of Strategic Services and eventually the Central Intelligence Agency. Though the writing sometimes falters and the cast is a bit uneven I enjoyed this piece.