Broadway Factor NYC presents THE ADULT IN THE ROOM Review – Nancy Pelosi’s velvet glove and iron fist

Posted on by Susan Lieberman

In these spineless times, there is no more reassuring sight than Nancy Pelosi behind a microphone in her signature suit and big beads. The first female Speaker of the House speaks softly, carries a big stick and, a few months shy of her 80th birthday, has more spinal cartilage than most people half her age. It’s Pelosi who held her ground during the longest government shutdown in history and Pelosi who resisted her fellow Democrats’ demands to impeach Trump until she was ready to proceed.

Broadway Factor NYC THE ADULT IN THE ROOM
Orlagh Cassidy as Nancy Pelosi

Penned by Bill McMahon and performed by Orlagh Cassidy, THE ADULT IN THE ROOM puts Pelosi onstage during a fictionalized Instagram Live session with Running Start, an actual organization that assists young women seeking public office. The solo show, produced by Broadway Factor NYC, provides a detailed view of Pelosi in Victory Gardens’ upstairs Richard Christensen Theater through mid-February.

Elegant style, gracious manners in THE ADULT IN THE ROOM

In a fine contrast, Pelosi’s classically appointed office – down to the fragile teapot from which she pours herself a cup – is framed by tall narrow screens that project questions and comments from her Instagram session participants.  Author McMahon and actress Cassidy demonstrate that Pelosi’s elegant style and gracious manners don’t prevent her from using modern technology. She does – with ease.

Behind her stands a grand American flag, a symbol of Pelosi’s patriotism that’s rooted in her thoroughly political upbringing by Italian American Catholic parents. Her father was a U.S. Congressman and then Mayor of Baltimore, her mother a politician’s fierce wife. As the only girl among five brothers, Nancy learned to be “an iron fist in a velvet glove” while always remaining “cool, ladylike and professional.”

Pelosi’s life as a pleasant package

THE ADULT IN THE ROOM never strays from its format of the Instagram Q&A session. For a show about a woman who seldom strays from her own disciplined format, the packaging is both appropriate and pleasant. However, in this viewer’s opinion, higher stakes might have made for a more dramatic play. No feminist trailblazer who has accomplished as much as Nancy Pelosi does it without juice in her veins and fire in her belly. There’s got to be messiness behind that well-kept façade. But we don’t see much in THE ADULT IN THE ROOM. Even when she stuffs her mouth with See’s Candies, Pelosi’s love of chocolate is so well known that the moment seems more expected rather than revelatory.

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When:

Through Feb. 15, 2020

Tuesdays through Fridays at 8 p.m.
Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and
Sundays at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
The final performance will be Saturday, Feb. 15.

Where:

Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theater
Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue

Tickets:

$49+

For full price tickets and information, go to Victory Gardens website or 773.871.3000.

Check for Half-Price Deals from Hot Tix:

Photos by Michael Brosilow

Note: Picture This Post reviews are excerpted by Theatre in Chicago

About the Author

Susan Lieberman is a Jeff-winning playwright, journalist, teacher and script consultant who commits most of her waking hours to Chicago theatre. Her radio drama In the Shadows aired on BBC Radio 4 last season.

Editor's Note: Click here to find more Picture This Post reviews by Susan Lieberman

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