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metropolisnews
Timely "Rod Blagojevich Superstar" parachutes into Metropolis
Pioneer Press
August 19, 2010
By Tom Whitom
How Rod Blagojevich comported himself as governor of Illinois is no laughing matter to the voters who elected him.
But "Rod Blagojevich Superstar," the topical no-holds-barred Second City musical comedy remounted at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, uncovers plenty of fertile ground for jest.
Dark humor, vulgar language and crude gestures in this succinct hour-long revue by Ed Furman are all aimed at the state's ousted top official -- even as jury deliberations drag on after a protracted trial on federal corruption charges following Blago's arrest in December of 2008.
The fast-moving show, directed by Matt Hovde with music and lyrics by T.J. Shanoff, plays out on an austere stage, a single chair its only prop.
Blagojevich is characterized as narcissistic, naive and delusional, "a scrapper ... a scrappy kind of guy" who asks with a straight face, "Since when is breaking a few laws illegal?"
Wearing a wig that mimics the former governor's too-perfectly-coiffed hair, Joey Bland, in the title role, delivers his lines ("All I want is power and a way to make some cash under the table") with panache.
Speaking as Blagojevich in a sketch discussing his authority to fill President Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat, Bland tells one of the interested parties, Sen. Roland Burris (played by John Hildreth): "This is a 24-karat carrot. And I already know who's getting that job -- the highest bidder."
Lori McClain, who is witty as the ex-governor's wife Patti, gets slammed for allegedly using her husband's influence as a tool to promote her real estate dealings. In a scene about the Political Machine, Patti agrees with Blago's assessment: "We think $25,000 is a great price to pay for friendship."
Other themes satirize pay-to-play schemes for state contracts, vindictiveness toward the media and the charms of life in Springfield.
Rounding out the cast are Dunbar Dicks and Lauren Dowden, who deliver slick performances, respectively, as U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan as they aggressively ride Blagojevich's trail. Dicks also is cast as power broker Chicago Alderman Dick Mell.
"Rod Blagojevich Superstar" isn't the most luminous work to come out of Second City, but has its treasures, including winning songs like "Back Off the Corruption" sung by Hildreth and a profanity-laced relationship number by McClain as Patti Blagojevich.
'Rod Blagojevich Superstar' by Second City through Sept. 18 at Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights. $28.50. (847) 577-2121 or www.MetropolisArts.com
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