As a work of tenacity and dramaturgy, Anna Deavere Smith's latest one-woman show, House Arrest, is pretty arresting, but as thoughtful theater, it registers far below expectations. Using the presidency, past and present, as her focal point, Smith employs her usual tactics: she interviewed close to 300(!) public figures, ranging from politicians and Washington insiders to TV personalities and authors. In addition to her usual copious research, she composed a show using verbatim excerpts from her findings.
Best known for her powerful 1993 solo show Fires In The Mirror, which shed light on the 1991 Crown Heights incident that divided blacks and Jews, Smith is a performer filled with vitality and daring, yet this newest venture feels strained and unfinished and never draws us into the hypocrisies taking place right under our noses. The play is at its best in its first act. Smith provides a revisionist point of view on past presidencies, especially Thomas Jefferson and his notorious affair with slave Sally Hemings. Smith's work in this stretch has real gravity, and her subjects are fascinating. Ken Burns, the famed documentarian ("The Civil War"), has a passionate discourse on slavery, and Smith forcefully conveys his disdain for authoritative figures. Also, her segment titled "Scientific Evidence: 1781-1998" delves into our obsession with hard facts that cannot always be substantiated about our presidents' social lives. The show's title suggests that the president is under a permanent kind of house arrest. He may be the most powerful man in the nation, but his every move is under a microscope.
A rich idea for exploration to be sure, but the more the evening progresses, the more the show begins to grate. The main problem is that Smith covers way too much ground. She has enough material for at least five different shows, and only the early going has real dramatic thrust. The set is entirely too busy as well. In virtually every scene, Smith is shown drinking or eating something, which may be a realistic portrayal of her interview subjects, but one quickly senses the show could do without them, since they add virtually nothing (ditto the constant wardrobe changes and projections by Batwin + Robin, which are impressive but highlight the fact that this show would be more effective if pared down a bit)
House Arrest's downfall is most apparent in its windy, wholly uninteresting second act. Odd, since this is where it should grab us by the throat, as it details our current presidency and its missteps. The section is flat and obvious, and even Smith's characterizations border on caricature and slip into each other. Marc Wolf's superb one-man show of this year, Another American: Asking & Telling, was strikingly similar in performance style and content, but that piece had an underlying sadness and force that drew us into its harrowing tales of the military, especially pertaining to gays and lesbians. Most noteworthy also, was Wolf's crystalline depictions of his subjects. We never were told who they were, and he would go back and forth between them and we never missed a beat, always alert due to his full-bodied figurations. Here, a banner above the stage instructs us, and we are thankful because some characters don't seem too different from ones we've seen before. When perusing the list of interview subjects, you can't help but wonder why Smith didn't use some of them. Surely James Carville or Jimmy Carter (not represented) would have been more illuminating discoveries than the chef of Chez Panisse in California or an extremely unnecessary bit involving a mother in a women's asylum, used to explore "Moral Slippage."
So much is offered, but in reflection, there really isn't much there that we haven't seen or heard before. It is very hard to dismiss House Arrest, especially considering Smith's dedication and strength pertaining to the topic, but the bottom line is that it fails to engage as an entertainment, which must be the chief concern of any show.
