Reviews of “Overlooking the Park”
The setting is Chicago. Artie has been hired as a media consultant for a baby-boomer candidate in a Senatorial campaign. He needs this job; he can’t afford to ask too many questions. But what he learned in that park below his hotel suite and from the movement of the 1960’s cannot be overlooked when the campaign gets dirty.
OVERLOOKING THE PARK examines the body politic from the perspective of image makers. It is somewhat expressionist in style. One of the characters, Artie’s first love, is a memory character who interacts with Artie. Through her the script explores the 1960’s and takes seriously the issues and perspective of that time. In addition to Artie’s old crony Mike, who is now his boss on this media team, there is a young woman Jean who has worked hard to reach her position of responsibility. She provides an intelligent counterpoint to Artie, a generational conflict that is another layer of the play. The heart of this story is about someone with his back to the wall trying to figure out where to draw the line.
CHARACTERS
ARTIE—Just past fifty
MIKE–same age
CATHY–could be played at her memory age near Jean’s age, or at Artie’s age.
JEAN—mid to late twenties
Two acts, one set, a hotel suite in Chicago, the fall of 2002, and various locations, the late 1960’s.
Production Note: If there’s a budget, perhaps use still photos on a large TV screen to mirror the language of the TV spots. The images should appear as the language conjures their existence.
Robert Siegel, Playwright 