By Emilia Benton
One of the very few things most Americans miss from George W. Bush’s stint as president were Will Ferrell’s remarkable spoofs on Saturday Night Live. The 43rd president’s time in office may be over, but he is his act on Broadway in “You’re Welcome America. A Final Night with George W Bush,” in which he reminisces about his life and times during both his pre and post-White House days while he “celebrates his eight years of service with you.”
The show opens with Ferrell as Bush making an entrance after being dropped off onstage by helicopter, where he is met with much applause upon introducing himself as “as of five weeks, ago, the former president of the United States of America.”
Ferrell makes an effort to include dialogue with audience members throughout the 90-minute performance, often telling those in the orchestra pit, “Wipe the smirks of your faces; I was a cheerleader at Yale!” Toward the end of the show, he asks various audience members for their names and occupations so that he can make up their very own nicknames, as Bush himself was known to do. Last Friday’s performance included one of our very own University students, who Ferrell dubbed “Lioness,” in reference to our mascot. Much of what Ferrell makes up during this part of the show is hilarious and dead-on, spotlighting Ferrell’s quality acting skills.
Throughout the show, Ferrell plays up the cockiness and self-assurance that comes with Bush’s self-awareness of what he lacks in self-knowledge. Many of the show’s highlights come when Ferrell takes a turn from reality to absurdity, particularly during a segment in which he reminisces about his family’s Crawford, Tex. ranch and recounts a trip Bush took with his father and brothers, which resulted all trapped in an abandoned mine shaft. This altercation comes off as not being far from the truth and it’s not hard to imagine Bush Sr. yelling at his son in sheer agitation about how he could possibly be the only member of their Connecticut-bred family who speaks with a Southern accent-something much of the nation has likely long wondered (particularly those of us who actually are native Texans!).
While Ferrell’s character dominates the show, he is accompanied by break-dancing Secret Service agents (one of whom is played by Ferrell’s brother, Patrick Ferrell) throughout most of it, as well as a lap-dancing, dialogue-lacking Condoleezza Rice (played by Pia Glenn).
The majority of audience members were probably already familiar with Ferrell’s sketches as President Bush from his “Saturday Night Live” days; much of his Broadway performance was a reenactment of those parodies. While most of the performance is more exaggeration than imitation (while you may want to believe it’s all true, many of the show’s stories are in fact fiction), the show stays fresh with Ferrell going off on impromptu tangents that come off as quite realistic. Additionally, you’ll be sure to know what’s real and unreal from the “Actual quote!” banner that appears behind Ferrell when those familiar, yet unbelievable lines pop up.
“You’re Welcome America,” directed by Ferrell’s writing partner Adam McKay, runs through Sunday, March 15 at the Cort Theater, barring an extension. Fans who weren’t lucky enough to score tickets can rest assured knowing that the Saturday, March 14 performance will be aired as a live telecast on HBO.