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Home , Eugene Luther Vidal, Gore Vidal, The Best Man (play)

Study Guide Show Synopsis Power, ambition, and secrecy are in the air—it must be election season. Set at the national convention in Philadelphia, Gore Vidal’s The Best Man takes you into the back rooms and hotel suites where two candidates are vying for their party’s nomination. It’s your inside look at the dirt-digging, double-dealing, triple-crossing deception of presidential electioneering...and what could be more fun at the start of a Presidential campaign season! However, leave your party affiliation at the door; The Best Man plays no favorites as theatrical fireworks are lobbed from both sides.

Discussion Questions Before the Show After the Show

1. Have you ever seen a live play or a musical 1. What was your favorite scene in The Best Man? before? What is your favorite genre? 2. After viewing The Best Man, how do you think 2. What do you think The Best Man is about? Have Vidal’s political views impacted his style of writing you ever seen the film? If yes, did you find any for this piece? similarities' between the two mediums? Any 3. Is there a relationship between honesty and differences? intelligence? 3. What characteristics make up a successful 4. Is it the voter’s right to know about a president? If you had the opportunity to mold politician’s personal life? your perfect president, what characteristics would 5. How do we determine the “character” of a leader? they have? Theatre 101

Ever wondered how to put on a play? SOUND: Everything that you hear during a performance There are many different elements that go into putting a that does not come from actors. show up on its feet. Please review these terms with your ACTORS: The actors are the people that perform the show students! onstage.

AUDIENCE: The lucky people that get to watch the show. PLAYWRIGHT: The playwright writes the script. New to being an audience member? Follow these rules and DIRECTOR: The director is in charge of orchestrating the you will be a natural! entirety of the production. They lead the actors, designers, AUDIENCE RULES and production crew to put the show on its feet.

COSTUME: What the actors wear during the show. • Unlike a movie, the actors are performing in front of you. They can see everything that you do. Talking, sleep- SCENERY: Everything on stage (except props) used to ing, poking your neighbor, or making noise during the represent the place at which action is occurring. performance distracts the actors and others around you. PROPS: All physical items on stage with the exception of • Don’t bring electronics to the performance. The use of the scenery. This includes lamps, chairs, pens, paper, cell phones, cameras, computers, tablets, and video books, and more! game devices are not allowed. LIGHTS: Stage lights illuminate the actors so that they • Use better judgement on when to laugh, clap, and/or cry look their best. The colors used, focus of the light, and during the performance. But don’t forget to clap at the amount of lighting can really set the mood and end of the show! environment of a scene. ACTIVITY: ACT IT OUT!

RUSSELL & JENSEN: (In unison) Mrs. Gamadge!

MRS. GAMADGE : Mr. Secretary . . .

RUSSELL: Mrs. Gamadge, it’s wonderful to see you! Come on in. You know Dick Jensen, don’t you? My campaign manager.

MRS. GAMADGE : Such a lovely hotel for a convention. I always say the hotel you’re at makes all the difference at a convention. Does Mrs. Russell like your suite?

RUSSELL: Practically a home away from home. DIRECTIONS: Act out the scene below with your class- mates! Pay close attention to the ellipses. This is a cue for the MRS. GAMADGE: She is here with you, isn’t she? next actor to cut off the previous actor speaking. Remember the rules of what makes the perfect audience member, and RUSSELL: Yes. I think maybe this is the good chair. think about different ways of how you can make your character unique and stand out. Most importantly, have fun and do MRS. GAMADGE I’ll sit here , thank you. not be afraid to use your imagination.

JENSEN: I must say, I’m glad to meet you at last, Mrs. Gamadge.

MRS. GAMADGE: And I’m glad to get a chance to see you, Mr. Jensen. I love eggheads in politics.

JENSEN: Oh, well . . .

RUSSELL: What can I get you to drink?

MRS. GAMADGE: I don’t drink, Mr. Secretary. A Coke or a glass of soda, maybe. Anything. Professors like you give such a tone to these conventions. No, I really mean it. Of course a lot of the women don’t like them but I do. Though of course I didn’t like the New Deal.

RUSSELL: Here’s your soda . . .

MRS. GAMADGE: A great many of the women are suspicious of you professors, Mr. Jensen. . . You don’t mind my speaking like this?

JENSEN: Certainly not, Mrs. Gamadge. After all, talking to you is like . . .well, like talking to the average American housewife. I mean you’re not average but you speak for them . . .

MRS. GAMADGE: Very nicely put, Mr. Jensen. I don’t know why everyone says he’s so conceited.

RUSSELL Dick? Stuck up? Why, he’s the spirit of humility . . .an old shoe in fact! As for being intellectual, he can hard- ly get through the Greek Anthology without a trot.

MRS. GAMADGE: Yes. You see, the women like a regular kind of man, like General Eisenhower. Now he really appeals to the women. That nice smile. He has such a way with him . . .he inspires confidence because he doesn’t seem like anything but just folks. You could imagine him washing up after dinner, listening to his wife’s view on important matters. The Playwright : Gore Vidal

Gore Vidal (Eugene Luther Vidal Jr.) was born on October 3, 1925, at the Military Academy in West Point, New York. At a young age, he discovered an interest in politics and became known for his outspoken political opinions and his witty and satirical observations. He published his first novel, Williwaw, at the age of 21, and wrote a few more novels later in his life. These books included In a Yellow Wood, Thieves Fall Out, Death Likes It Hot, and A Star’s Progress. In the 1950s, Gore Vidal shifted from novels to writing for the stage. His cynical political drama The Best Man, did well on Broadway earning Melvyn Douglas a Tony for Best Actor in Play, and Tony nominations including Best Scenic Design and Best Direction of A Play. In 1960, Gore Vidal ran for Congress in upstate New York, which he lost to the race. In 1964, Gore Vidal adapted The Best Man into a film, which he admired. He also appeared on television in the 1960s and 70s, to comment on culture and politics. Gore Vidal shifted to writing novels again until his death on July 31, 2012.

https://www.biography.com/writer/gore-vidal

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gore-Vidal

Discussion

• How is the writing process different for an author than it is for a playwright? (Think in terms of style, character development, etc.)

• Do you think a particular writing process is easier than the other? Why or why not?

Mini Actitivity: Write A Short Play

Directions: You are going to have the opportunity to write a min play. You have a few options, you could write a mini play about a scene in The Best Man, but with an alternate ending, or a mini play in the theme of politics. You can write your scene on a separate sheet of paper or on the back of this study guide. Biography

Walnut Street Theatre has the unique distinction of being the oldest, continuously operating theatre in the English-speaking world, having served Philadelphia audiences for 211 years! Due to the direction of Producing Artistic Director Bernard Havard, Walnut Street Theatre has been a self-producing, non-profit theatre company for over 30 seasons. Walnut Street Theatre continues to entertain and enlighten diverse audiences with high quality theatrical programming. With more than 50,000 subscribers, the Walnut is also the most- subscribed theatre company in the world! Last season, 172,000 children and adults were impacted by the Walnut’s Education Programs, including our theatre school with classes for kids and adults, Camp Walnut, Our Touring Outreach Program to local schools, and our artist- in-residency programs.

Walnut Street Theatre Education Staff Additional Resources

DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION TJ Sokso http://www.pitt.edu/~kloman/politics.html ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION Amanda Pasquini EDUCATION PROGRAMS ASSOCIATE Nate Golden https://livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe50s/ RESIDENT TEACHING ARTIST Ali Walker worldevents_01.html EDUCATION APPRENTICE Quanece Thompson ACTING APPRENTICES Sam Paley https://plsonline.eku.edu/insidelook/policing -political-upheaval Andrew Mullin -1960s-and-today-which-side-are-you Oliver Feaster