Bay Street's ‘Five Presidents’ Is a Fun, Savvy Satire

In 1994, former Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and incumbent Bill Clinton all convened at Yorba Linda, Calif., for the funeral of Richard Nixon. It was an unprecedented assemblage of American power. But what did they talk about? Were they ever all in a room together alone? What do the erstwhile leaders of the most powerful nation in the world do and say around each other? This is the premise of Rick Cleveland’s “Five Presidents,” a new play currently making its East Coast debut at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor.

Mr. Cleveland’s résumé is an impressive one, including work on television series such as “The West Wing,” “Mad Men,” and “House of Cards.” And his “Five Presidents” is a fun, savvy satire on American politics and the office of the president itself.

There are, however, occasional lapses in taste that compromise what would otherwise be a classy and professionally executed evening of theater.

The play begins in a holding suite where these former presidents arrive one by one waiting to join the ceremony for Mr. Nixon’s funeral. With an 85-minute running time, there is not room for deep character studies of these five complicated men, so Mr. Cleveland boils his presidents down to single motivational tropes: Gerald Ford, the “nothing” president still suffering over his pardon of Nixon; George H.W. Bush, rueful over his failed re-election bid; Jimmy Carter, the gentle peacemaker; Ronald Reagan, haunted by Iran-Contra and encroaching dementia, and Bill Clinton, the brilliant cad. During the hour or so they’re together, they laugh, drink a bit, hash over old wounds and resentments, and re-examine a good deal of the last 40 years of American history.

While “Five Presidents” is not an out-and-out comedy, there are some big laughs to be had, such as when Gerald Ford is longing for a drink but feels he must abstain, explaining, “It’s what happens when your wife has a chain of rehab clinics named after her.” And there’s Bill Clinton’s character alluding to his marriage while speaking of his “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy: “Believe me, I live by those words myself.”

Occasionally, though, Mr. Cleveland is willing to traffic in a less dignified brand of humor. A portrait of Nixon sits in the room where the men are assembled, and one by one these former presidents sling vile insults at the man’s image: “liar,” “third-rate,” “racist,” “bigot,” “ugly” (three times), among many others. Mr. Cleveland peppers these insults in roughly 10-minute intervals — just when the humor in his play begins to run a little thin. They garner a few knee-jerk laughs that rise quickly and die out just as fast, probably because the idea of former presidents insulting one of their own on the day of his funeral is not only unbecoming, but unrealistic. For a talent like Mr. Cleveland, relying on “Tricky Dick” material for laughs feels more than a little uncomfortable; it’s like the political satirist’s version of penis jokes.   

The performances are all impressive, but it can take a few minutes for each character to take hold in the imagination. Superb makeup jobs aside, none of the actors are exactly dead-ringers for the presidents they portray. Nor do any of the performers succumb to mimicry as they deliver their lines. In the era of “Saturday Night Live,” when we are used to seeing presidents mocked with outrageous hyperbole, this can be jolting. Wisely though, the director, Mark Clements, has his actors take a subtler approach — how can you compete with the likes of Dana Carvey, Chevy Chase, and Dan Aykroyd after all? The performances in “Five Presidents” are the kind that evolve more slowly and finally creep up on you into full-blown credibility.

Special notice must go to Steve Sheridan’s portrayal of Reagan, whose character undergoes the greatest trajectory. His Reagan moves from hokey congeniality to angry panic as he begins to repeat jokes over and over again and forget recent events — all signifying the onset of dementia. It’s the most challenging of the roles, and what pathos “Five Presidents” has to offer is tied up in the Reagan character and his struggles with a diminishing mind.

Nearing the end, Mr. Cleveland gains a contemporary footing for his play as the characters discuss the overt ambitions of then-First Lady Hillary Clinton. And there is an interesting moment when the presidents speculate on whether it will be a woman or an African-American who will first be elected to the office (a woman is the presidents’ consensus).

But it’s the specter of Nixon that ultimately must be reckoned with. Without giving too much away, the rancor of these former presidents toward Nixon turns mostly to pity, and something like forgiveness sets in. For this viewer, it was too late. The playwright has already set Nixon up as a pinata and had his fun with him, and the 11th-hour mercy rings hollow. In the end, we like his characters — and his otherwise diverting play — a little less for it.