Flint Township View

FYT presents Farragut North




FLINT
— Flint Youth Theatre’s staged reading of Farragut North
will be performed at 6 p.m. Oct. 17. This timely and starkly realistic insider’s view of the American political process is written by Beau Willimon.

The story revolves around Stephen, a wunderkind press secretary who has built a career to be envied by men twice his age. During a tight presidential primary race, however, Stephen’s meteoric rise falls prey to the backroom politics of more seasoned operatives. Here is a classic tale of hubris set against a contemporary landscape — about the lust for power and the costs one will endure to achieve it. The Los
Angeles Times
said, “The play has fresh accuracy that suggests the playwright was taking juicy notes on the campaign trail.”

“Willimon writes from his own experience as an advance man for Howard Dean in Iowa four months before the 2000 caucuses. While this experience gave him the necessary foundation to write about political trench warfare, the play focuses on the struggles the characters undergo to maintain their sense of purpose and idealism when faced with the brutality of campaigning.

This can serve as a reflection of our own efforts to do the same as voters as we move toward another election — the pull of cynicism is powerful and it’s difficult not to allow ourselves to become jaded,” said Walter Hill, FYT associate artistic director in charge of programming and producing the Off the Press Series.

Farragut North
is the first staged reading in FYT’s 2010-11 Off the Press Series and will be performed at Flint Youth Theatre, 1220 E. Kearsley St. The $5 admission includes the staged reading, a talk-back with the performers and refreshments provided by Fandangles’. Tickets are available at FYT by calling 810-237-1530 or at the door beginning one hour before the performance. More information is available at flintyouththeatre.

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Natalie Blythe


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