The Clintons are taking the stage again... but this time, they're being portrayed on Broadway. In Clinton: The Musical, set to debut in the United States in the New York Musical Theater Festival July 18, President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton struggle to mitigate the consequences of the President's affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, according to Reuters.
Written by two Australian brothers inspired by a musical satire of a former Australian prime minister, the presidential musical debuted for the first time in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2012 and has, interestingly, not yet appeared in the U.S.
In the musical, the former President is not one character but two--a more serious politician, WJ Clinton, and the less serious Billy Clinton. The brothers, Paul and Michael Hodge, were inspired by the president's portrayal of himself as having these two different identities in his 2004 autobiography My Life. Hillary Clinton, too, just released her book Hard Choices.
According to The New York Times, Duke Lafoon, who plays Billy Clinton, said, “They’re so heavily in the news right now, with Hillary’s book and potential run for the White House, so we’ll ride that wave. At the same time, I understand what people say. Do we need these jokes again?”
The focus of the musical seems to be not on the scandal itself but on the aftermath, according to the actress who plays Hillary. "When she is asked specifically about the scandal her answer is, 'I'm over that,'" said Alet Taylor. "She wants to move forward, so I don't know that our musical represents moving forward, but I think she is aware of it,"according to am NewYork.
Will Clinton: The Musical be as much of a hit in the U.S. as it was in the U.K.? We will just have to wait and see!
