Scott Elmegreen Archives - TheaterScene.net

Scott Elmegreen

Ghost of John McCain

September 25, 2024

If, to paraphrase Mark Twain, a liar's greatest enemy is laughter, then the new musical comedy "Ghost of John McCain" is certainly no friend of Donald Trump. It's also not a hagiography of the late Arizona senator and famed prisoner of war who, after dying in 2018, is condemned for his own political shortcomings to another captivity, this time in Donald Trump's warped subconsciousness. When the show sticks to this satirically low-brow conceit, it rollicks along humorously, thanks in no small part to a nimble cast unafraid of being supremely silly. But Ghost of John McCain also has an off-putting penchant for strained seriousness, as if losing faith in the power Twain proclaimed. [more]

Straight

March 31, 2016

The authors of "Straight" would have you believe that in 2016 26-year-old straight- acting investment banker Ben, living in Boston where same sex marriages have been legal for the last eight years, would still be in the closet. Seeing girlfriend Emily for the last five years since senior year at college, Ben finds sex with men more satisfying than with women, but he does not see himself as gay. He has just begun a sexual relationship with almost 21-year-old Boston College student Chris and he doesn’t want Emily to find out. However, Emily’s roommate is moving out and she wants him to move in. After all, it is five years and what is he waiting for? [more]