Sitting under the disjointed blue lights of the Mandel Center for the Humanities Atrium, waiting to see a play that was to satirize the George W. Bush administration, I couldn't help but feel like a clich?(c) of a liberal arts college student.

At a school undeniably to the left, Bush, the impish, often confused-looking former president, feels like an easy target. Bring in the egg-headed Vice President Dick Cheney, the leathery Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and the rest of the flummoxed administration, and you have a play sure to please the generally liberal audience of Brandeis. Republicans, I suggest you bring a book.

Stuff Happens, a play written by David Hare, was performed on Nov. 14, 15 and 17. It was presented by the Free Play Theatre Cooperative, Brandeis' experimental and social justice theater group. Stuff Happens follows the Bush administration post Sept. 11, 2001 as they decide who to invade by almost arbitrary tactics and made up reasoning.

About 50 seats surrounded the stage area on three sides, placing it in an intimate setting. The set included a minimal round of chairs, a desk, a bench which actors stood on to give speeches and a screen that provided backgrounds such as the Oval Office.

The play was well directed by Amanda Stern '15 and the actors used the space well, generally allowing audience members from all sides to see and hear them. The space allowed for hilarious details which would not have been possible in a traditional theater setting. For example, at one point the Bush administration was looking at information about the then-President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein. From their seats alongside the stage area, the audience could see the administration's papers had images of Barney the dinosaur, and a paper that said "Between a Rock and a Hard Place."

Additionally, many of the actors' subtle facial expressions were more visible, like the endearingly befuddled Bush, expertly played by Miriam Goldman '14. Still, the space was not ideal for a theater performance, and sound sometimes drifted into the high ceiling.

In her directors' statement, Stern said she tried to move away from the cliche jokes surrounding the characters in the script. The cast was both race and gender blind. Stern explains, "The personalities of the Bush administration truly ring larger than life, and it is my belief that a talented actor or actress of any race could find a way to convincingly portray these historical individuals."

While the cast was able to portray these individuals convincingly, it became difficult for the audience to keep track of who was who. Not only were the actors blindly casted, but also double casted, making it sometimes necessary to refer to the playbill for further clarification. Stern also chose to have all of the actors take turns as narrators, which may have added to the confusion.
Overall, the play was well produced, and the actors were all strong, although some stood out more than others. Andrew Agress '17, who portrayed George Tenet and David Manning, had true stage presence as he spoke in his deep deadpan. Sid Mehra '17 chose a nerdy persona as Paul Wolfowitz, and spoke in a high-pitched nasally tone. However, the true star was Miriam Goldman as the infamous "Dubya." Goldman, employing a pleasant southern twang, encompassed Bush's incompetence and childishness without being over the top.

One of the funniest moments occurred during a meeting between Bush and British prime minister Tony Blair at Bush's Texas ranch. While Blair was contemplating what to do about Iraq, Bush loudly ate a snack as he trailed after Blair, deep in the middle of a philosophical crisis.

The play was funny, certainly, but underneath the laughter was underlying sadness that this was all much too real. While the play is by no means a documentary, and clearly takes comedic license, some of the most ridiculous quotes were taken verbatim from the offenders.

The play's title comes from Donald Rumseld's response to the April 2003 lootings in Baghdad. Rumsfeld said, "Stuff happens and it's untidy, and freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things." During intermission, I overheard a conversation next to me. "I can't decide if this play is funny or sad." "Why can't it be both?"
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