By Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com
photo: Kathleen Dreier – Creatista
From her rumpled newsroom office, Molly Ivins (Betsy Kruse Craig) looks back on her life of taking Texas conservatives to task.
With wonderful timing, the Invisible Theatre is running a play about the left-leaning political humor of Molly Ivins during election month. Whether or not your favorites win on Tuesday (Nov. 8), “Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins” will either be a celebration of victory or a determination to dig deeper and be stronger for the next election.
“Red Hot Patriot” is actually a 75-minute monologue by Betsy Kruse Craig as the irrepressible Ivins, dressed for success in her red boots, black cowboy hat and Western shirt with button snaps.
She is assisted by Trystan Garcia as sort of a copy boy who has no dialogue, but keeps bringing her the latest teletype bulletins from the onstage Associated Press wire service machine.
There is sort of a plot as Molly takes us back over her life from those childhood and teen years as a bona fide member of Texas' way-upscale society, the stormy relationship with her authoritarian father, her natural-born love for journalism and her knack for irritating Texans who were on the right.
Ivins' prime time years were during both Bush administrations. But before that, as a young reporter in 1977, she wrote the Elvis Presley obit for the New York Times.
The playwrights (and twin sisters) Margaret Engel and Allison Engel want to make the connection between Ivins' bristly attitude toward her father and her relentless criticism of all political conservatives.
Much of the humor comes directly from Ivins' own columns. She describes the earlier lineage of Texas being devoid of Republicans but bitterly divided between liberal and conservative Democrats.
All that changed with the presidential election of Ronald Reagan, which brought on the introduction of Republicans to the Lone Star state.
As directed by Nancy Davis Booth, Craig creates a defiant character intuitively upset by Texas racism and incensed at how the rich kept beating down the poor.
You don't need to be a news junkie or way-left progressive to enjoy “Red Hot Patriot.” If you believe in democracy and fair play, you'll believe in Betsy Kruse Craig as Molly Ivins.
The Wednesday, Nov. 9, show will include a post-performance discussion led by Tucson's own journalistic icon, Mark Kimble.
“Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins” has added three more performances, now running to Nov. 19. The schedule begins with shows at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday (Nov. 9-11), 2 p.m. matinees Saturday-Sunday (Nov. 12-13), then additional dates at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday, (Nov. 17-18), 2 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 19).
All tickets are $40, with discounts for groups, seniors, active military and students. For additional details and reservations, visit invisibletheatre.com or phone 520-882-9721.
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