Bum's Rush

THEATER REVIEW: When We Go Upon the Sea

by David Anthony Fox

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In When We Go Upon the Sea, playwright Lee Blessing imagines George W. Bush sequestered in a hotel room in the Hague, about to be tried for war crimes. I dare say that's recommendation enough for many people, who will look forward to seeing the stage bestow on GWB a punishment he seems likely to avoid in earthly reality. Lest you fear that Blessing might offer a revisionist take, let me reassure you that this is absolutely the mythic Bush-We-Love-to-Hate: 50 percent entitled, glad-handing, frat-boy emeritus; 50 percent xenophobic zealot; 100 percent dimwit. (It's clearly the Bush the opening-night audience wanted — they chuckled knowingly at his every inanity and malapropism.)

Don't get me wrong — I also hate the guy, who seems to me a living incarnation of the banality of evil. The trouble is that banality just isn't very entertaining. Frost/Nixon works because Tricky Dick — swarthy, Mephistophelean, maddeningly smart and unpredictable — is a worthy villain. But a play about Bush version 2.0? It's like being locked in a room with some bore from the Rotary Club.

You can tell that Blessing sees the problem, too.So in addition to Bush, he's populated his play with a mysterious couple. Piet is a creepily competent Dutch butler; Anna-Lisa is a temptress. They're here to cater to GWB's every whim, and maybe also give Blessing an opportunity to write dialogue for people of normal intelligence. Piet offers up some metaphoric badinage about oceans and ships and great Dutch painting.But mostly the pair seem to have wandered in from another show entirely (Damn Yankees, maybe).

I do give credit to Blessing for attempting to make something more than sketch comedy out of all this. When We Go is elegantly directed by Paul Meshejian in this InterAct Theatre production, and well-acted by Kim Carson (Anna-Lisa), Peter Schmitz (Piet) and especially Conan McCarty (Bush), who does an excellent Dubya impression but also gives a real performance.

Still, it's not enough. Or maybe it's too much. After eight horrific years with the bum, do we really want to spend another 85 intermission-less minutes in his unenlightening company? Through May 9, $25-$29, InterAct Theatre at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St., 215-568-8077, interacttheatre.org.