Lee Atwater stated that he did not create the dirty tricks of politics. No, he wasn't the father, but he was the S. O. B. that honed dirty tricks into a fine science and then taught others, such as star student Karl Rove. Robert Myers' Atwater: Fixin' to Die, currently at Cygnet Theater, traces his short history from his first forays into politics to Chairman of the Republican National Committee and his untimely death from brain cancer shortly after his 40th birthday.
Jeffrey Jones, under Rosin Reynolds' direction, is brilliant as the egotistical manipulator of the press and public opinion. Jones captures the many facets of the man who was totally at home with destroying an opponent to further his candidate's progress to public office.
In 1984 his victim was vice presidential hopeful Geraldine Ferraro. In the 1988 George H. W. Bush campaign, he was instrumental in obliterating Michael Dukakis' early substantial lead with the Willie Horton stories.
Myers' script, while accurate in its limited look at Atwater, tends to give him a much more positive spin than he deserves. At the very end of his life, Atwater finds God and attempts atonement, which included telling a few of his victims he was sorry. Well, at least in part, for Lee Atwater's major drive was winning at all cost, power, and money.
Jones displays Atwater's passion for rhythm and blues, which leads to the Curb Records' "Red Hot & Blue" with Atwater playing with some of his favorites, including B.B. King and Isaac Hayes. Jones' performance exudes Atwater's seemingly bottomless pit of energy that propelled him into the national spotlight early in his life.
Sean Murray's simple blue stage trimmed with red, white, and blue bunting in the background stays empty except for a bunting-trimmed gurney and a lectern. M. Scott Grabau's lighting and sound designs include projections and aural effects from simple street sounds to convention crowds. Costume designer Michael Dondanville II could have costumed a much larger cast just in the many changes that Jones goes through.
Director Reynolds takes advantage of every foot of the stage as well as Jones' energy. For almost an hour and a half, Jones captivates his audiences. He controls our emotions, even while portraying some of most negative aspects of Atwater's personality. His performance is reason enough to see Atwater: Fixin' to Die.
