NANCY F***ING REAGAN by Carol Kaufman Segal

           

Nancy F***ing Reagan, written by Daniel Hurewitz and directed by Larry Margo, is a play making its world premiere at The Secret Rose Theatre.  The play won the Christopher Hewitt award and was a finalist in the Ashland New Play Festival in 2018.

            

David (Kiff  Scholl) is turning 50 years old and his close friend, Maggie (Debi Tinsley), has invited some of their friends to her home in Palm Springs to celebrate his 50^th birthday.  Maggie is a dean at the local college while David is a history professor who lost his partner from aids.  Unfortunately, this is the day of Nancy Reagan’s funeral and the procession has caused a traffic problem.  When the guests arrive late at the home of Maggie and her husband Richard (Mark Sande), they are not in the best mood and begin vilifying the Reagans, particularly Nancy.

            

The arriving guests include Jason (Greg Ivan Smith) and present lover, Kenny (Cobert Alembert), an African American.  They settle down and begin discussing how the Reagans closed their eyes to the seriousness of the spread of the disastrous aids disease. They ignored the problem completely, even when some of their friends, who were suffering from the disease, reached out to them for help. They see Nancy as the greatest influence on her husband, hence “Nancy F***ing Reagan” was the cause of many deaths that might have been saved.

           

Unexpectedly, a student from Maggie’s school shows up at the house to speak with her. Maggie is not pleased that she did not wait to see her in her office at school but she allows her to stay.  Allison (Safiya Quinley) is an attractive African American and she came to report a serious situation that occurred with her professor.  She ends up by joining the guests in their conversation and adding racism to it as well.

           

All the while, reports are coming through on the TV by a newscaster (Amy Kersten) regarding the movement of the Nancy Reagan funeral procession.  Probably due to a bit too much liquor, David becomes agitated at the thought of Nancy F***ing Reagan, being responsible for so many deaths,  He decides that since she has so much blood on her hands, he’s going to go to her funeral to pour blood on her coffin.  And so he does, with the help of Kenny who decides to accompany him!  Happy Birthday, David!

           

Larry Margo directs this well presented production aided by an outstanding cast.  The play runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, and Sundays at 2 PM, through August 4^th, at The Secret Rose Theatre, 11246 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood.  For ticket information, call (818) 762-2272.