It’s been a bleak month for the arts after Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis vetoed $32 million in funding for Florida arts organizations because he thought the Orlando Fringe Festival as a “sexual festival.” He has also been pushing for the banning books of subjects he doesn’t like.
It was this cloud hanging over my head, plus the heavy rainstorm, when I entered The Abbey theater to see a showing of The Foreplay: An Exploration of the Birth of Our Nation, written by Michael Knight (who recently appeared in The Play That Goes Wrong and will be directing Stranger Sings! this October and November). Michael also runs New Generation Theatrical.
The Foreplay is a show starring George Washington (Gregg Baker, Jr.), Thomas Jefferson (Adam Delmedico), James Madison (Zachrey York), and George Mason (Isaac Bannasch). Using modern language and modern sensibilities, it takes a — mostly inaccurate — look at how the U.S. Constitution was created by Jefferson, Mason, and Madison.
Plus, it’s a drinking game! You can buy drinks at the bar, use the drink ticket that came with your show ticket, and there’s even a bottle of wine at each table. You take a drink if certain things happen on the screen (Jefferson sucks, Madison writes something, Mason is a grumpy old man, you hear an eagle, etc.)
We are transported back to New York City in 1789, and George guides us through what the rules are for the next two hours — no heckling, no pictures, only speak when spoken to, or “you will be Sherman Marched right out. (That’s a Civil War reference!),” George warns.
George is the hilarious narrator who is unseen and unheard by the three other forefathers (the threefathers?) as they fight and argue their way to writing the first ten amendments to the Constitution. He can freeze time with a clap of his hands, make a sharp and witty comment to us, interacting with the audience, and unfreeze it again with another clap. It’s like if you hooked The Clapper up to a DeLorean.
Meanwhile, Jefferson, Madison, and Mason argue, discuss, berate, and chirp their way through the creation of the Bill of Rights, telling us what the forefathers (threefathers) were more or less thinking when they created the freedom of expression, the right to bear arms, the right not to incriminate oneself, and the right to a speedy trial. Plus, they really had it in for the English — I mean, do we even need the Third Amendment anymore?
Think of The Foreplay as an incredibly wrong but somewhat accurate discussion of the hows and whys of the creation of the Bill of Rights. What did the founding fathers mean when they created each of them? What did they intend based on what they knew about the world at the time. I also loved how they thought $20 was a lot of money and that only crimes that were valued at more than 20 bucks needed a jury trial.
There are a lot of “if you know, you know” moments, so it really helps that you’re somewhat up-to-date on current events and are aware of what has happened in the world in the last, oh, eight years or so. So if you’re up on current events, and/or history, this show is hilarious.
It also helps if you’re familiar with what the Bill of Rights actually says. (Hint: Read the Bill of Rights before you actually attend the show.
Writer Michael Knight must know a lot about history, or had a lot of help from Professor Google, because there are jokes and asides in this show that are way funnier when you actually get the reference. It’s sort of like getting all the deep cut references in the Bob Ross-Pablo Picasso Rap Battle from Epic Rap Battles of History. You get the same sort of thrill of recognition whenever a tiny detail lands in your brain and you want to blurt out, “I get that reference!”
The Foreplay is a hilarious cutting edge comedy and all four characters were funny and had great jokes. But my favorites were George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who both had some amazing zingers.
Unfortunately, no one could hear George, and so it was only Jefferson who was threatened and beaten for irritating the shit out of his two colleagues. Mostly because he was an obnoxious, overbearing dickhead who did whatever he could to get Mason’s goat.
As I watched The Foreplay, I thought “Man, if you took out the swear words, this would be a great history lesson for high school students.” Of course, it would only be 20 minutes long then, but this could be a great teaching tool. I know I certainly learned a lot.
Like, I never knew George Washington was Black and wore sunglasses. Ah, history!
There’s one more showing of The Foreplay on Sunday, June 30. Get your tickets here. Please go see it. You’ll learn something and you might get hammered. Whoever said learning wasn’t fun?