`JFK' STAR LACKS DEPTH, CHARISMA.Byline: Julio Martinez Correspondent John F. Kennedy "John Kennedy" and "JFK" redirect here. For other uses, see John Kennedy (disambiguation) and JFK (disambiguation). John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917–November 22, 1963), was the thirty-fifth President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in , the 35th President of the United States The head of the Executive Branch, one of the three branches of the federal government. The U.S. Constitution sets relatively strict requirements about who may serve as president and for how long. , has become one of the most scrutinized U.S. chief executives in modern history. It would be difficult to offer new insight into his well-spotlighted life and career. Michael Shannon's lengthy one-person play, having its world premiere at Hollywood's Stella Adler Theatre, does neither. Director Vickery Turner does her best to provide texture and variation to the presentation, but cannot compensate for Shannon's lack of character depth. Shannon must be drawn to promiscuous 20th-century U.S. presidents. Last year, he starred as scandal-plagued Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2 1865 – August 2 1923) was an American politician and the 29th President of the United States, from 1921 in James Staley's stage play, ``Everyone's Friend,'' at the Whitefire Theater. This time out, he has penned and is starring in a bio drama that includes a plethora of information, both documented and surmised. Shannon offers a fact-filled survey of the dynamic era of JFK's adulthood, including his World War II Navy experiences, his father's deep agony over the death of older brother Joe Jr. and his intense dislike of Roosevelt, the escalating post-Cold War environment of the 1950s, the 1960s Berlin crisis, the Cuban missile crisis Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962, major cold war confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. After the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the USSR increased its support of Fidel Castro's Cuban regime, and in the summer of 1962, Nikita Khrushchev secretly decided to , the germinating civil rights movement and the early development of the tragedy known as the Vietnam War. There is also a titillation to hearing about Kennedy's well-publicized connection to Frank Sinatra's Hollywood Rat Pack and such mob figures as Sam Giancana. Shannon's JFK is quite droll as he nonchalantly non·cha·lant adj. Seeming to be coolly unconcerned or indifferent. See Synonyms at cool. [French, from Old French, present participle of nonchaloir, to be unconcerned : non-, discusses Jackie's improper holidays on billionaire Aristotle Onassis' yacht and movie star Marilyn Monroe's indiscriminate desire to serve under the Kennedy men. The actor does possess an attractive stage presence. Roaming around an all-purpose set that includes the Oval Office desk, the White House press room lectern and the famous Kennedy rocking chair, Shannon's JFK generally speaks directly to the audience, exuding a relaxed, humor-filled conversational tone that alters only slightly when he is giving a press conference or making a television speech. The actor wisely understates Kennedy's much-impersonated accent, allowing the rhythm of JFK's speech patterns to convey the Kennedy regionalism re·gion·al·ism n. 1. a. Political division of an area into partially autonomous regions. b. Advocacy of such a political system. 2. Loyalty to the interests of a particular region. 3. . What is lacking is a sense of an inner life that is driving Kennedy's decisions, rationalizations, passions and fears. When he addresses the failed Bay of Pigs The Bay of Pigs (Spanish: Bahía de Cochinos, also known as Playa Girón) is an inlet of the Gulf of Cazones on the south coast of Cuba. fiasco with an angry, ``How could I have been so stupid,'' reflects on his humiliation by Khruschev at the 1961 Vienna summit meeting or casually philosophizes on the Kennedy history of womanizing wom·an·ize v. woman·ized, woman·iz·ing, woman·iz·es v.intr. To pursue women lecherously. v.tr. To give female characteristics to; feminize. , Shannon's JFK is merely providing information without illumination. The production is also hampered at times by Darren Staley's information-packed but overly busy sound design. Particularly annoying is the constant replay of the ominous recorded reference to the Kennedy assassination Assassination See also Murder. assassins Fanatical Moslem sect that smoked hashish and murdered Crusaders (11th—12th centuries). [Islamic Hist.: Brewer Note-Book, 52] Brutus conspirator and assassin of Julius Caesar. [Br. , ``Something has happened, something has happened in the motorcade.'' ``JFK ON JFK'' Where: Stella Adler Theatre, 6773 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday; through Oct. 1. Tickets: $15. Call (213) 203-4227. Our rating: Two and one half stars |
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