Many thank to Carol Kaufman Segal for her thoughtful, human- (and not politics-) focused review of “Fifteen Men!”

Review of “Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room” by Carol Kaufman Segal (Carol’s Culture Corner)

Fifteen Men In A Smoke-Filled Room is about Warren G. Harding, our country’s 29^th President and written by Colin Speer Crowley.  In 1899, prior to his becoming President, Harding was elected to the Ohio State Senate and was the most popular Republican in Ohio.  He became the lieutenant governor of the state, but failed to win the governorship.  However, in 1915 he became a United States Senator from Ohio

The play takes place in Chicago Illinois at The Congress Hotel (elegant design by Jeff G. Rack).  It is Friday, June 11, 1920, during the time of the Republican National Convention  We find Warren G. Harding (David Hunt Stafford) being cajoled  into becoming the presidential nominee of the Republican Party by his ambitious campaign manager, Harry M. Daugherty (John Combs).  Harding has no interest at all in running for the office.  His thoughts are more embedded into being able to spend more time with his mistress, Nan Britton (Sarah Walker) and their young daughter, who he never sees.

Harding and his wife, Florence Kling Harding (Roslyn Cohn) seem rather cool with one another, but we discover more about her when she makes arrangements to meet with Daugherty in order to convince him not to try to force her husband into accepting the nomination.  Florence insists that she has received an omen from a psychic alleging that he will die if he is elected.  In her strong and pleading request to Daugherty, it is obvious that she loves her husband and, strongly, believes in the warning.  Daugherty shows zero concern for Florence’s pleading.

We meet Nan when she shows up at the hotel to see Harding.  When he tells her he is not interested in becoming the President of the United States and that he wants to give up the life he has in order to spend it with her and their daughter, she insists that he should run.  There is no doubt that it is more important to her that he is a man of high rank and position.

The outcome of course, as we all know, is that Warren G. Harding did become the 29^th President of the United States on March 4, 1921.  He died of a heart attack on August 2, 1923, just 881 days after taking office!  During his time in office he was quite popular, but he is actually considered one of the worst presidents in our country’s history, mostly for the fact that there were so many scandals during his tenure, including The Depot Dome. During the play a clever way of going through periods of Harding’s rein are divulged by a radio announcer (Roger K. Weiss).

Fifteen Men In A Smoke-Filled Room is directed flawlessly by Jules Aaron.  A superb cast brings these historic characters to life.  Roslyn Cohen is especially outstanding in her scene of angst that she shares with John Combs.  An additional actor in the play is Kevin Dulude who plays two minor roles (Newspaper Editor/Waiter).

I love this great review of “Fifteen Men” by Eric A. Gordon, especially its reference to “Fifteen Men” as a “Greek play”…. spot on!

‘Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room’: How Warren G. Harding became president

Review of “Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room” by Eric A. Gordon (PeoplesWorld.org)

“Yes, ladies and gentlemen,” the radio announcer opened his news report, “another day, another scandal! It seems like nothing can prevent further improprieties from staining President Harding and his administration prior to this year’s midterm elections. The blazing spotlight of impropriety has now focused its glare on Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty…. Congressmen from both parties can only wonder if there will be an end to the widespread corruption sweeping the nation’s capital.”

The biggest White House corruption scandal ever recorded up to that point in history took place during the early years of Warren G. Harding’s administration. It was known as the Teapot Dome Scandal. Theatergoers watching Colin Speer Crowley’s new play will have to decide for themselves if the current occupant of the White House has topped Harding on the scandalometer.

Crowley’s thesis is that Harding (David Hunt Stafford) was a fairly innocuous small-town fellow from Marion, Ohio, who by some early algorithm of the Peter Principle got to become a U.S. Senator. It was the scheming men around him who, realizing what an inattentive pushover Harding would be, manipulated his election so as to take advantage of their access to power and make a killing for themselves once he got into office. The later Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty (John Combs) is seen here as the ringleader of this cabal as Harding’s campaign manager.

The setting of the play is Chicago, Friday night, June 11, 1920, in the elegant Florentine Room and the Restaurant of the Congress Hotel, with a balcony over the street below. The Republican National Convention is in full swing. There are several ambitious candidates for the presidential nomination but no one has a clear mandate.

Warren G. Harding, feeling old, fatigued and beleaguered, is overwhelmed by the prospect of running for president—if for no other reason than he would like nothing more than to quietly keep enjoying the only thing that gives him peace and joy in life, his adoring young mistress Nan Britton (Sarah Walker), by whom he has a toddler daughter, his only child, whom he can’t see or hold. “I’ve always had an election banner plastered across my mouth,” he laments.

Daugherty is a shrewd operator, however, and in round after round of voting, against all odds, he manages to push his candidate to the fore on the tenth ballot. The last linchpin in the plan is to meet with the Ohio delegation and make sure they are on-board with their native son (and willing to overlook the mistress thing).

Harding is portrayed as an unconscious tool of other men, other forces, almost hounded by inevitable fate, preordained by destiny as if in some ancient Greek play where the gods command the last word in the action. From a dramatic point of view, perhaps it could be said that Harding is not even the protagonist. That part goes to Daugherty, who also has to overcome the paralysis he encounters in Florence Kling Harding (Roslyn Cohn), the senator’s superstitious, shrewish wife (five years older than Harding), whose fervent belief in “the stars” and in their infallible interpreter, a certain clairvoyant Madame Marcia, presents a powerful obstruction to the progress of the plan.

Mrs. Harding, smart, sarcastic and sassy, has the best lines in the play. “You and your friends,” she snarls to Daugherty, “will dictate to my husband. And why not? He never had any ideas of his own to begin with…. I can see nothing but tragedy, turmoil and heartache.” She and Warren are all either of them has (how much she knows or cares about Nan is a question): “Desolation is my home town—population 2.”

To those who know a little of our country’s history, it’s no spoiler to say that Harding unexpectedly died in office, on August 2, 1923, at the age of 57, in eerie coincidence with Madame Marcia’s prediction. Which is why, according to Crowley, Mrs. Harding did not want her husband to run. (He also had had heart problems from a much earlier time in his life).

Harding, incidentally, was the only U.S. president to have had a career in journalism, and up until his time was the only president to have been a union member—of the typographers’ union.

Although the action of the 90-minute intermissionless play all occurs on one night, Crowley introduces an out-of-body, out-of-time element in the form of a radio broadcaster (Roger K. Weiss) giving occasional updates on the Teapot Dome scandals as Harding’s presidency ensues. Director Jules Aaron, along with his set designer Jeff G. Rack, both regulars with Theatre 40, came up with an ingenious way of inserting the future into the present. The lighting designer, Brandon Baruch, also deserves credit in making this time travel credible.

For some playgoers Fifteen Men may support the notion that a “fate” beyond human powers controls our lives. Were there not—and aren’t there still—those who in 2016 latched onto a purported prophecy by Nostradamus (1503-66) to the effect that in time the most powerful nation on Earth would come to be ruled by a foolish idiot? (That prediction has already “come true” several times already, with or without benefit of prophecy!) Of course we also know that Nancy Reagan was a devoted follower of astrology and had a profound effect on her husband’s presidency in accord with the “stars” (and I don’t mean Hollywood).Two small roles, a newspaper publisher and a waiter, are handled ably enough by Kevin Dulude. Costume design is by Michèle Young, and sound design by Joseph “Sloe” Slawinski.

For what it’s worth, I do not believe Daugherty would have used the Yiddish term “shmuesing” in 1920, as in buttering up the delegates. Other than that, the dialogue is crisp and the story engrossing.

Wow, what an AWESOME review on “Fifteen Men” from Elaine Mura from Splash Mags!

Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room Review – The Reluctant President

Review of “Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room” by Elaine Mura (SplashMags)

In a cunning depiction of Warren G. Harding’s ascent to the presidency of the U.S., talented playwright Colin Speer Crowley has woven history and drama into an intriguing whole. Skillfully directed by Jules Aaron, FIFTEEN MEN IN A SMOKE-FILLED ROOM arrives in Theatre 40 just in time for the upcoming election of 2020.

It is June 1920 in Chicago, and the Republican National Convention is stymied. As politicians swing to and fro in their machinations to select a candidate for President, nothing seems to be coalescing for the upcoming election. Pushed and pulled this way and that by Harry M. Daugherty (John Combs), his ambitious campaign manager – later to become the Attorney General of the U.S. – a reluctant Warren G. Harding (David Hunt Stafford) seems fated to become the GOP’s next candidate. His outspoken, superstitious wife Florence (Roslyn Cohn) can hardly wait to return to their home in Ohio, while his starry-eyed mistress Nan (Sarah Walker) dreams of his becoming POTUS. But the aging Harding really wants nothing more than a peaceful retirement in a quiet corner of the universe – preferably with his sweet young thing on his arm. But history has decreed otherwise – as any history buff will tell you. Harding’s administration, marked by a level of corruption rarely seen in Washington, is meant to be.

Cleverly assembled in a past-present format narrated by radio broadcaster (Roger K. Weiss), FIFTEEN MEN IN A SMOKE-FILLED ROOM trundles on to its inevitable conclusion – a sad day for the electorate as the Teapot Dome scandal rocks the country – as well as a sad day for the doomed Harding. A strong cast bring the 1920’s to life – with the able assistance of costume designer Michele Young and hair/wigs/makeup designer Judi Lewin. As always, Jeff G. Rack’s set is superb as it replicates the 1920’s ambiance. Another clever element which adds to the tale: the ghost-like radio announcer who portends the destruction of the principals in somber tones from a transparent wall.

Of special interest, Theatre 40 will soon present their annual journey into the Doheny mystery which unfolded and is enacted in Greystone Manor. Their upcoming production, “The Manor” – billed as “murder and madness at Greystone Mansion” – gives the audience a chance to view corruption in the Harding administration from a different perspective in the same time period. The two make a fascinating set of twins.

FIFTEEN MEN IN A SMOKE-FILLED ROOM could not be more timely, an intriguing glimpse of the political elite and their methods and means of influencing the future of the United States. History buffs will certainly enjoy this production – but the contemporary feel of events which happened almost 100 years ago will also appeal to current audiences.

Many thanks to Ben Miles at ShowMag.com for this great review of “Fifteen Men!”

Review of “Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room” by Ben Miles (ShowMag.com)

Until the start of the 20th century, Warren G. Harding, the 29th president of the United States, was considered by most historians to be the low man on the presidential totem pole. Harding’s administration—from 1921 until his mysterious death in 1923–was ridden with scandals; some of which, such as the Teapot Dome incident and Harding’s clandestine extramarital affair, came into public consciousness after his tenure was cut short by his cardiac arrest at the age of 57.

Now in a premiere production of Fifteen Men in a Smoke-filled Room, penned by playwright Colin Speer Crowley, we get an imagined  peek behind the scenes of the 1920 Republican National Convention held in Chicago, which made the unlikely choice of the anodyne Warren G. Harding as the GOP’s presidential standard-bearer; his less-than-awe-inspiring campaign slogan was a plea to “return to normalcy.”

In spite of sturdy direction by Jules Aaron, Crowley’s script tends to meander in the gaping chasm between the practical and political, as represented by Harry M. Daugherty—who was Harding’s campaign manager and later became U.S. Attorney General (played with much believable bluster by John Combs) and the mystical and metaphysical as represented by Harding’s clairvoyantly obsessed wife, Florance Kling Harding (performed with supercilious condescension by  Roslyn Cohn).

But it is David Hunt Stafford as Harding who infuses the president-to-be with self-doubt and portentous dread. Along with Sarah Walker, who portrays Nan Britton, Harding’s nubile mistress, Stafford brings heart to the historic figure and a moment or two of hilarity as Nan attempts to avoid the gaze of culpability from Mrs. Harding.

Also deserving of honorable mention are Roger K. Weiss as the ghostly-appearing radio broadcaster and Kevin Dulude doing double-duty as the railway tycoon and magazine editor George Harvey and as “the waiter.”

Technically Fifteen Men runs with the proficiency of a Swiss watch, from the set design by Jeff G. Rack, which is elegant and a period-perfect replication to Michelle Young’s equally impressive costumes, which evoke 1920s fashion, to Joseph “Sloe” Slawinski’s sound engineering, which alludes to the cacophony of noises that might come with a political convention and Brandon Baruch’s lighting motif, which provides shadings in mood and variations in location.

However corrupt and inept the Harding Administration may have been, the fact that our country was able to overcome the detriments of that epoch gives us hope in our own age of political incompetence. That’s the value in experiencing Fifteen Men in a Smoke-filled Room.

Thanks to Rich Borowy for this fine, very fair review of “Fifteen Men!”

Review of “Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room” by Rich Borowy (Inaccessibly Live Offline)

Theatre 40 of Beverly Hills presents for the third entry in their 2019-20 season, the Los Angeles premier of Colin Spear Crowley’s FIFTEEN MEN IN A SMOKED FILLED ROOM, a drama about the campaign nomination of Walter G. Harding for president, and the back story behind it all.

The setting is during the Republican National Convention in Chicago in the early summer of 1920. David Hunt Stafford plays Harding, a senator from rural Ohio. He was set to become nominated during the convention as the presidential candidate. His campaign manager Harry M. Daugherty (John Combs) is getting his name across during the convention’s day of balloting. Harding’s wife, Florence (Roslyn Cohn) holds an uneven feeling toward the outcome. Being in a superstitious nature, she even went ahead to consult a fortune teller on what may transpire once her husband takes over the candidacy for the possible winning of the election. Adding toward this is Nan Britton (Sarah Walker) a younger woman who happens to be Harding’s second mistress! These aspects that materialize on that day in Chicago brought forth the political based “smoked filled room”, where secret meetings would take place under heavy cigar smoke through the power brokers that could settle the results of a political movement with a lot of deal making on the side!

Jeff G. Rack, Theatre 40’s residential set decorator, creates a set that portrays a plush hotel suite at the Congress Hotel where much of the “smoke filled room” events did come to pass. This time around, no spoke is depicted on stage!! Michele Young’s costuming shows the same period fashion that was standard as worn during the political arenas.

Also appearing in this presentation is Kevin Dulude as George Harvey, a journalist and central figure into the smoke filled room proceedings, and Roger K. Weiss as a radio announcer.

Directed by Jules Aaron, FIFTEEN MEN IN A SMOKED FILLED ROOM is a play that takes an inside look to the forming to one of America’s least preferred presidents in terms of running the nation through scandals, affairs, and other back handed details. Although what did came about happened nearly a century ago, it’s another part of preferred drama that adapts well on the Theatre 40 intimate stage set.

Very nice review of “Fifteen Men” from Willard Manus of TotalTheater.com!

Review of “Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room” by Willard Manus (TotalTheater.com)

Warren G. Harding becomes a sympathetic figure in Fifteen Men in a Smoke-Filled Room, Colin Speer Crowley’s political drama, which is now running at Theatre 40, directed by Jules Aaron. Although history has always treated Harding cruelly, owing to the scandals that marred his term as 29th president, Crowley believes that he was essentially a decent, honest chap who was betrayed by his closest friends and confidants.  Not only that, he didn’t even want to be president, preferring instead to run off with his mistress and put the world of politics far behind him.

Fifteen Men is set in June 1920, in a Chicago hotel room during the Republican convention. Harding (David Hunt Stafford), an Ohio Senator, seems to have little chance of winning his party’s nomination for president.  But his big, boisterous campaign manager Harry M. Daugherty (John Combs) believes that they can pull off an upset.  A shrewd, ruthless political operative, he knows how to guy the system and come out on top.

Opposing him is Florence Kling Harding (Roslyn Cohn), Harding’s cold, sharp-tongued wife. Although she and Harding are no longer close, she still cares about his well-being.  A fanatical believer in astrology, she has read the stars and divined his future: “If you win the nomination and become president, you will die in office. That is your fate,” she tells him. “You cannot escape it.”

Daugherty scoffs at that and tells Harding to ignore her and focus on winning his party’s nomination, pointing to all the glorious things they will do for America should he become its next president.  The reluctant Harding agrees to stay in the race, largely because his mistress Nan Britton (Sarah Walker) urges him to obey Daugherty.  Smitten with love, she truly believes that Harding is a great man, someone who will leave his mark on history.

It’s at this point that playwright Crowley pulls a trick out of his sleeve. His play makes a sudden jump in time, via a radio broadcast in which the announcer (Roger K. Weiss) reports on Harding’s first two years in the White House. That’s when two of his appointees, Albert B. Fall (interior) and Harry Daugherty (attorney general) became involved in the Teapot Dome scandal.  The disillusioned Harding was so shocked by their corrupt behavior that he considered resigning the presidency and returning to civilian life (where he’d play his beloved cornet and dally with his mistress). However, Nan once again begged him to stay the course and keep running the country. It was not long after that, August 2, 1923, that Harding died of a stroke in a San Francisco hotel.

Fifteen Men is certainly relevant to our times—once again widespread corruption is undermining our democracy—but the play is more of a character study than a political expose. Its portrait of Harding as a hapless, tragic figure is maybe too much of a whitewash—as a senator Harding opposed the League of Nations and voted for anti-strike legislation—but Crowley does succeed in making us feel sorry for this flawed, not-too-bright human being. Fifteen Men is skillfully acted (the cast also includes Kevin Dulude doubling as a newspaper publisher and a hotel waiter). It is also crisply directed by Jules Aaron…and looks historically  accurate,  thanks to Jeff G. Rack’s sumptuous, detailed  set.