Farragut North Reviews
LA Splash- Highly Recommended
"...This gripping play has returned to Los Angeles in 2017. Director Cathy Linder describes this fast-paced "twists-and-turns" play as "...exactly the kind of `edge of your seat' theatre that I find stimulating to work on." When the audience hops onto this roller-coaster, they're in for a thrilling ride."
Stage Scene LA- Highly Recommended
"...Farragut North, Beau Willimon's riveting look at the behind-the-scenes maneuverings and back-stabbings of a Presidential primary campaign, a Geffen Playhouse hit just months after the first Obama win, now gets a solid Odyssey Theatre guest production with a far different man in the White House."
ArtsInLA- Somewhat Recommended
"...Willimon's play, a guest production at the Odyssey in West Los Angeles, follows a day in the life of Stephen (Jack Tynan), the 25-year-old press secretary for Democratic presidential candidate Gov. Morris (unseen). Stephen's boss is Paul (Geoffrey Lower), the governor's campaign manager. We meet them as they're having drinks with The New York Times political reporter Ida (Jennifer Cannon), who in this production of the play is getting very handsy with the men, while Ben (Adam Faison), the young deputy press secretary they treat as a go-fer, soaks up every word."
The Los Angeles Post- Somewhat Recommended
"...And, to my mind, neither does Farragut North. The characters talk a lot, but we never get a sense of what they're thinking or feeling underneath the words. It's "what you see is what you get" - in this case, an engrossing (if nasty) story with some interesting (if nasty) characters, but no hint of where they came from, or what propels them to do what they do the way they do it. It's an attractive and polished surface, but I wish we had occasionally gone a little deeper."
Stage Raw- Somewhat Recommended
"...The most glaring problem is the play itself: the script lacks proper denouement and character development. What did the characters learn or gain? Nothing, apparently, unwittingly leaving the impression of a doomed and vicious cycle of campaign trail dysfunction. Ultimately, it's a play that fully counts on the audience's lingering political fervor, which these days feels more like burnout."
Theatre Notes- Highly Recommended
"...Under the fast paced direction of Cathy Fitzpatrick Linder, Farragut North makes for gripping, if disturbing, entertainment tinged with a kind of existential horror. The likeable characters of the first scene get peeled down to an empty core, which then inevitably calls to mind the current political anxiety. While not comfortably fitting into the Aristotelian definition of tragedy, the actions of the characters are disconcerting to watch, and do provoke a certain pity. One cannot look away from this valuable, instructive work of theatre art. I think it reaches back all the way to Athenian model. Kudos to the players and all involved."
Haines His Way- Recommended
"...he writer knows the political milieu very well indeed. The play is billed as "a classic tale of hubris" and that it is. Every one of the main characters is brimming over with hubris and the cutthroat world of modern American politics is their playpen. It's a fascinating piece of writing. The current production is competent if unexciting. Cathy Fitzpatrick Linder's workmanlike direction gets the actors from point A to point B without much finesse. The actors are also competent but don't really inhabit their roles; they merely seem to be playing caricatures rather than characters."
Hollywood Revealed- Highly Recommended
"...Farrugut North is compelling theater that is perhaps more relevant in today's world than when it was first created. This slick production does the story proud."
Broadway World- Recommended
"...Those into political jargon will find much to spark their interest in the behind-the-scenes goings-on of a political campaign, especially in the opening scene. The ensemble of actors assuredly handle their very lengthy explanations and expositions. Cathy Fitzpatrick Linder directs her actors to deliver their sometimes political buzzword-laden speeches in a welcomed fast pace."