Local actors bring humor to presidential history

Five Carrboro actors are adding drama to politics — more so than usual.

“44 Plays for 44 Presidents,” showing at The ArtsCenter through Sunday, brings a dimension of comedy to the U.S. presidency.

The play chronologically follows the life and legacy of each U.S. president.

Broken into 44 mini-shows, the play begins with the utopic perfection of George Washington’s presidency and ends in a polarized America led by Barack Obama.

Adam Graetz, The ArtsCenter’s marketing director and video designer of the show, said he likes the representation of iconic American figures on stage.

“We hear about these men — the myths and legends. This show really serves to humanize them,” he said.

“It’s their quirks. It’s their legacy. Also, it’s hilarious.”

The mini-shows range from a dance number praising Richard Nixon to a musical about George H.W. Bush-era dirty campaigning.

Graetz said actors interact with multimedia elements in the show.

“We’ll be running archival footage for some of the presidents and displaying slides and images to enhance storytelling,” Graetz said.

“It’s really the perfect storm of media elements.”

Stephen Wall — who portrays Obama, as well as a multitude of other characters — said he feels no pressure playing the current commander-in-chief, stressing that humor is one of the cast’s main goals.

“This is not realistic,” Wall said. “There are 150 roles between the five of us — men are playing first ladies, women are playing presidents.”

While the production aims to entertain, the cast also hopes to get its audience thinking about politics, Graetz said.

“It’s no coincidence that this is the year we’re working on this production. It couldn’t have been timed better,” Graetz said.

“We want (the audience) to get fired up about the election — to start thinking, ‘What does the selection of a president mean to us?’”

The Carrboro performance is one of 44 iterations of the show across the country.

Jeri Lynn Schulke, The ArtsCenter’s stage director, is the producer and artistic director of “44 Plays for 44 Presidents.”

She said she hopes the show excites the audience about the upcoming election.

“This is why I wanted to participate in this nationwide festival,” Schulke said.

“It’s great doing what I know and love, but I’m also getting to be engaged in encouraging people to do what we have the right to do — to vote.”

Contact the desk editor at arts@dailytarheel.com.