Life imitates art in ACT's "The Sensuous Senator"

Often, art imitates life and with the nation in the throes of election season, the timeliness of Anchorage Community Theatre’s production of “The Sensuous Senator” is spot on.

Written by Michael Parker, The Sensuous Senator is a fast-paced and fun comedy about smooth-talking Senator Douglas who is running for President on a “morality” platform. But when his wife Lois leaves to attend a conference in Chicago, he does not hesitate to invite Veronica, his secretary and lover, over. Finding her unavailable, he has an escort agency send voluptuous Fiona. All seems well until his elderly Congressional colleague and neighbor locks himself out and asks to spend the night. Then Congressman Jack Maguire drops in unexpectedly and Fiona, unsure who her client is, zeros in on him. Meanwhile, Veronica changes her plans and appears on the scene. Before Lois reaches the airport, her fashionable Washington townhouse is swarming with libidinous politicians, scantily dressed women, security police, and a muckraking reporter from The National Intruder! When snow closes the airport and she returns home, the bedlam crescendos to a surprise ending.

Although the production’s main character Senator Douglas struggles to reconcile his political promises with his personal desires, veteran actor Ralph Lynch, says the role isn’t a stretch.

“Playing a character who purports to be moral is fundamentally quite simple. We all have visions of moral perfection and we all accept our limitations. That’s really about it. It’s not hard to play it, it’s hard to live it,” explains Lynch.

For Marrin Eighinger, who is making her local directorial debut, the production is an important reminder not to take things at face value when voting this year.

“It’s important to put on a show like the Sensuous Senator because it puts into perspective how much politics are really a performance of their own. The show opens with Senator Harry Douglas and his associates leading a press conference to announce his campaign for presidency and they are effectively giving their own performances of what they believe the press wants to see. The show helps remind the audience that there is more than one side to everyone, and it shows us the consequences of choosing to believe only what a person wants you to see,” Marrin says.

The Sensuous Senator runs through October 2 on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7 pm and Sundays at 3 pm. Tickets are available online, over email, or call ACT at (907) 344- 4713. As always, you can visit their website at actalaska.org for more information.