Nearly April, the electioneering for the 2024 campaign for President has begun 24/7, so I suppose that a political play should be on the ballot. Paul Slade Smith’s The Outsider (2015) is not the one we’ve been waiting for. This painful, predictable “comedy” is short on laughs, long on caricature, and probably should be impeached.
A boob of a lieutenant governor, Ned Newley (Joel Sandel), is elevated to the top spot when the former immensely popular governor is caught in a sex scandal. Ned’s a wreck, a nerd, a numbers man with no social skills whatsoever. He so botched the inaugural ceremony he’s on the verge of being voted out of office before his term begins. “I’m not experienced with success,” he squeaks out like Beaker from the Muppets.
Chief-of-staff Dave (Dain Geist) attempts to boost Ned’s flagging spirits with half-hearted pep talks, but it’s no use. Pollster deluxe Paige (Kara Greenberg) has been hired to manage the campaign and scour the focus group ratings, while dim bulb Louise (Tracy Ahern) is brought on as personal secretary, although her temp jobs in the past have lasted a day or less. Famous political pundit Arthur Vance (David Laduca) worms his way into the inner sanctum with an offer no one can refuse or refute. He knows the secret to political longevity: be yourself, which in this case means Ned being stupid and incompetent. The voters like that, it’s real, Arthur pontificates, as if he’s on MSNBC.
The TV interview goes awry, conducted by hard-nosed Rachel (Callina Anderson) and her stoic cameraman A.C. (Ronnie Blaine), but when Louise barges into the shot she inadvertently takes over and blurts out that she’s Ned’s pick for lieutenant governor. With malaprops firmly planted in cheek, she’s a rating bonanza. Arthur beams. Yes, of course, she’s a natural for political office. He’ll manage her campaign, while keeping Ned safely in the background.
The entire setup is silly and unbelievable – well, OK, maybe not the part about a politician’s incompetence, that we can believe – that we watch in stupor as the mechanism of the plot grinds on and on. There was a point in the second scene, I think, where you could actually see a pall go over the actors’ faces. They didn’t want to say these insipid lines or play these insipid characters, but the show must go on.
And the A-list cast did carry on valiantly and invested these paper-thin people with ham-fisted showbiz spirit. They blustered and bellowed, with gestures large as Bernhardt’s, but to no avail. We almost believed Ned’s transformation from nervous Nellie to Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Almost. Not even these fine actors could breathe life into this third-rate material.
Only the cartoon antics of Ahern caught fire, and her every entrance was a delight. In an obvious and rather cheap parody of Sarah Palin, she became the life of the party.
Unlike its previous production, the sweet and kooky Almost, Maine, this Mighty Acorn production, in cahoots with WCO Productions, looked cheap and regional. The walls swayed when someone slammed the door. We had more stylish sets for our junior high school plays. It was all slapdash and chintzy, lit by floodlight.
Fashioning a candidate takes work, from buffing an image to capping teeth. This play is an also-ran, a continual second-place finisher.
The Outsider continues through April 5 at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 1, and Wednesday, April 3, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays; 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays at The MATCH, 3400 Main. For more information, call 713-521-4533 or visit matchhouston.org. $35.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
