If you think congressmen’s policies are often cringe-worthy, try sitting through an hour of their acting. The missed cues, the butchered lines, the floppy hats — it’s all part of the annual Will on the Hill event to benefit the Shakespeare Theatre Company.
The crew of absurdly dressed members was led Monday night by Scottish actor Euan Morton and Creative Coalition leader Tim Daly, who appears on ABC’s “Private Practice.” But even the professionals couldn’t get this merry band of politicians, media personalities and local business people to deliver their lines properly. (We’re looking at you, D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton.) Daly and Morton were cast as the villains — Richard III and Puck, respectively — while Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-N.C., played hero Hamlet, complete with a Southern drawl.
In the play, Puck and Richard III tried to get reasonable Washingtonians to fight with one another. “I am the embodiment of human evil, especially now that the competition is gone,” cackled Daly, with the biggest applause line of the evening. The supporting case included Norton, Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Rep. Ted Deutch, R-Fla., Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., the National Journal’s Major Garrett and many others.
Also at the event, former Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., was given a token of appreciation from the company. (The theater’s Sidney Harman Hall is named after her late husband). “[She] has earned top ratings from advocacy groups such as Planned Parenthood, the Human Rights Campaign and the California League of Conservative Voters … Conservation Voters,” artistic director Michael Kahn said, quickly correcting himself after the audience started cracking up. “She’s not that persuasive,” Kahn added.
Harman took the award and teased her former colleagues. “There are several who should have been in the audience at the wedding on Friday in London, their headgear is amazing,” she said.
