“Teddy Roosevelt and the Ghostly Mistletoe”
Where: Kennedy Center Family Theater
When: Through Dec. 30
Info: $18; 202-467-4600; kennedy-center.org
Mark Russell, the master of political satire, is having his way the second time around with Teddy Roosevelt’s White House.
Two years after the roaring success of their musical mystery adventure, “Teddy Roosevelt and the Treasure of Ursa Major,” composer Russell, playwright Tom Isbell and director Gregg Henry have outdone themselves with “Teddy Roosevelt and the Ghostly Mistletoe.”
The holiday romp pits the conservationist president against his children who are clamoring for a Christmas tree in the White House. In the midst of that family squabble, the oldest daughter, Alice, tosses even more confusion into the pot with plans for her upcoming wedding to Nicholas Longworth that call for a guest list of 500 plus.
“She was very adventuresome and often smoked on the street at a time when that kind of public behavior was not acceptable,” Russell said. “The music I wrote for the show includes ragtime, foot-stomping songs typical of the period and one or two little snippets of Christmas numbers, but the show-stopper is the Alice tango.”
Deborah Wicks La Puma arranged Russell’s songs to be recorded for the show and Ilona Kessell, described by Russell as “an absolute genius,” was responsible for the choreography topped by a segment straight out of Broadway.
“William Howard Taft has just returned from the Orient with souvenirs, among them a kimono that he convinces Teddy to try on,” Russell said. “At the same time, Alice sees the sword he brought back and wants it for cutting her wedding cake. A chase begins, the characters dashing in and out of doors and slamming them in the manner of the comedy ‘Noises Off.’ Children in the audience will love it.”
The entire script passed approval by the White House Historical Association right down to inclusion of the president’s butler, James Otis, who heeds the children’s plea in the song “Think of it, James,” and agrees to participate in their conspiracy.
Roosevelt, played by Michael Glenn, takes center stage singing two songs with the same melody, but opposing viewpoints. In the first, he laments the stress of being a president and solving deep problems like bringing Japan and Russia together, an act which earned him a Nobel Peace Prize. In the second, he tries to convince Taft that his role as the succeeding president will be extremely relaxing.
Growing up in Buffalo, Russell enjoyed a connection with Teddy Roosevelt from an early age. Following McKinley’s assassination, Roosevelt was inaugurated in the Ashley Wilcox mansion which later became the home of the Jesuit priests who taught in the high school Russell attended.
“I could look out the classroom window every morning and see two delivery trucks pull up to the house, a beer truck bringing beer for the priests and a dairy truck bringing a half-pint of cream for their cat,” Russell said.
His fondness for Buffalo continued even after he moved to Washington and utilized his class clown and musical aptitudes spoofing politics in up-scale piano bars. Along the way, his Mark Russell Comedy Specials were telecast for 30 years direct from Buffalo on public television stations. In 2004, he received the Teddy Roosevelt Leadership Award presented by the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site.
