Milwaukee Journal

ENTERTAINMENT:

'McCarthy' tells story of senator, his crusades

Highlights:

Sprawling and cinematic, "McCarthy" has a scope much more universal than its title suggests. The Milwaukee Repertory Theatre's portrait of Sen. Joseph McCarthy is about a man and the system that created the man, or at least allowed him to gain unprecedented power.

Playwright Jeff Godsmith draws much of the material verbatim from hearing transcripts and other materials, and actual newspaper headlines and photographs are an integral part of the show.

In psychoanalizing McCarthy, Goldsmith, and director Frank Condon, show how McCarthy's character is the essence of America, a symbiosis of American values pushed over the edge.

"McCarthy", through its central metaphor and its high-energy staging, shows us politics as slugfest. Movements and ideas are born not of debate, but of sloganeering and vendetta. The world of "McCarthy" is filled with news photographers' popping flashbulbs, blaring headlines, rowdy flag-waving conventioneers and political shouting matches.

The full text of this review is available on request.