ART REVIEW: 'THE SENSUOUS SENATOR'

A Comedic Play That Peeps into the Private Affairs of Political Men

By: Parimal M. Rohit

January 20, 2010

(Sierra Madre, California) - A word of wisdom for a presidential candidate who happens to be married: before engaging in adulterous acts of sexual indiscretion on evenings when your wife is supposed to be out of town, be sure her plane has fully taken off and is airborne before making that discreet phone call to that part-time lover. For Massachusetts Senator Harry Douglas, the stage was set for him to make a run for the White House – the perfect presidential “look,” a supportive wife, solid political allies and an air-tight platform based on morality and family values.

Too bad for Harry a sensational journalist seemed hell-bent on breaking a story in her tabloid that the only morals the presidential candidate valued was a family-style harem that would ensue in his Washington, D.C. townhouse. After a press conference introducing Senator Douglas as an official candidate for president, Harry returns to his condo with his wife and two congressmen – one being the respectable Clyde Salt and the other being Harry’s nephew Jack Maguire, a dashingly young and aspiring politician who's still wet behind the ears when it comes to mixing discretionary and legislative affairs. As Harry’s wife immediately leaves for the airport to catch a red-eye flight to Chicago to kick off her husband’s presidential campaign, Mr. Douglas has plans of his own when he thinks privacy is about to descend upon his residence. Mother Nature had different ideas, forcing both Congressmen Jack and Clyde to take up alternative lodging at the Douglas residence when neither is able to get to their respective homes due, in part, to cold weather.

Of course, before both congressmen storm back into his home, Harry thought he was perfectly alone and had already placed calls to his stunningly beautiful secretary and an escort service. When both the secretary and the escort arrive at Harry’s home – what with Clyde and Jack already looming around in the hallways – a comedic romp of events ensue as everyone is trying to hide potentially disastrous revelations from being made to each other, all in the name of preserving character while still having a little fun under the table.

With a snooping journalist, an overbearing police officer, an uneasy elder congressman, a woozy younger politician, a fearfully restless presidential candidate and an unassuming wife, The Sensuous Senator is a scandalously riotous take of the not-so-discreet indiscretions of our nation’s politicians. The Sensuous Senator is headlined by Mark Tydell (Harry Douglas), Charles Howerton (Clyde Salt) and Brendan Shanahan (Jack Maguire). Tydell has the look and feel of a senator with presidential aspirations, yet, in playing Harry, perhaps the greatest aspect of his performance is how he portrayed a high-ranking man who has a severe soft-spot for woman -- a well-spoken man who was not impervious to indiscretion. In playing the innocent congressman who appears to have been born yesterday, Shanahan is convincing enough as a man who's naïve about the inner workings of political “affairs” of Capitol Hill. Indeed, Shanahan’s strength was in making his character’s innocence as believable as possible, and, in that aspect, he was stellar. Perhaps the greatest performance was delivered by Howerton, who was the most believable of the three men in his rendition of a politician. In watching Howerton portray Congressman Salt, the audience will never have a problem escaping the friendly confines of the theater and believing they are actually watching a genuinely senile yet experienced politician at work. The attractive Donna Cherry is Mrs. Lois Douglas, the faithful wife of Harry. While her role throughout the play is rather short and sporadic, Cherry was quite convincing in her rendition of a politician’s wife. Solid performances were also delivered by Melanie Rashbaum and Kerry Jade Aberman, both of whom portrayed the attractive young women who would potentially play the role of home-wreckers. Also starring Tanya C. Edwards as a snoopy journalist and Scott Vinci as an overbearing police officer. 

The Sensuous Senator is a laugh-out-loud play that sheds unique perspective on the lifestyles of our nation’s leaders. Written by Michael Parker and directed by Ken Salzman, the two-act play known as The Sensuous Senator is now playing at the Sierra Madre Playhouse and runs on weekends through February 27th; tickets are $12, $17 and $20.