KINGS


The inherent message of Sarah Burgess’s play “Kings” is probably that politicians may come and go but lobbyists will go on forever.

Eisa Davis plays Representative Sydney Millsap, the first woman and woman of color to be sent to Congress from her Texas district. Davis does an excellent job in giving Millsap a strong, no-holds-barred principled position of fighting for what she believes will benefit the public.

Enter Gillian Jacobs as Kate, a determined lobbyist who presses to get what she needs from Millsap. Kate is a smooth talker and persistent in the face of the resistance that she encounters from her target. Aya Cash plays Lauren, another lobbyist, who has less personality than Kate but is even more rooted to working within the familiar, corrupt system.

The plot gets complicated when Millsap decides to challenge Senator John McDowell, played impressively by Zach Grenier, for his long-held seat. He is sort of a good old boy whom she wants to replace with her idealistic approach to government. Very tough, he warns her about what she will be up against.

How will the contest turn out? We know that despite Millsap’s will to fight and stand on principle, it will be an uphill battle. In the process, her refusal to knuckle under to lobbying will be a fund-raising handicap. Whatever happens we are led to expect that Millsap will retain her honesty.

As for Kate, when all is done, we see her contemplatively alone on stage, a slight indication that she may be having second thoughts about where she is at in life.

There is a simple bare-bones scenic design by Anna Louizos and the audience is split into two sides, with the stage in the center. Director Thomas Kail has made an effort to enable both sections of the audience to hear the cast members, For example, a table at which characters sit and talk revolves. The play is heavy on discourse, and Kail strives for clarity.

“Kings,” although at times rather diffuse, succeeds in taking us into the whirl of politics, maneuvering and pressures and provides insights that can be useful in thinking about what is going on today in the real world of those we send to Washington and those we don’t. At the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street. Phone: 212-967-7555. Reviewed February 21, 2018.




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