Stage Review : Presidential Tactics : Scandal masterfully reigns in Warren G. Harding’s administration in ‘Everyone’s Friend.’

Presidential adultery, influence peddling, an aggressively political first lady, even suicidal aides--unprecedented lows for the executive branch? Sorry, it’s been done.

For sheer breadth of corruption, the scandal-plagued administration of Warren G. Harding reigns supreme. Yet Harding’s story receives little attention, even from the new cottage industry of television pundits devoted to feasting on presidential politics.

That’s an oversight James Staley sets out to rectify in his “Everyone’s Friend” at the Whitefire Theatre. Careful research, skillful stagecraft and fine performances dig beneath the obvious modern parallels to find the human drama in Harding’s brief presidency, from his 1921 inauguration to his death in office in 1923.

The real focal point of Staley’s play is not Harding, but his ambitious and domineering wife, Florence. In a powerhouse performance, Marcia Rodd breathes fire into Flo’s tireless prodding, manipulation and strong-arm tactics as she steers her reluctant husband into an office he never wanted. An “energy in search of a purpose,” Flo rails against the limited opportunities for women in her era. Knowing full well that the attractive, roving Harding would never be faithful to her, she resolves early on to keep him by being smart and useful after the passion has cooled. Diving in to salvage his floundering newspaper business, she leverages her inherited wealth to maneuver him into politics--and marriage.

As Harding, Michael Shannon graciously accepts the supporting role to Flo’s ambition, while illuminating the man’s innate good intentions as well as his tragic flaws. Drafted as a compromise by deadlocked Republicans, Shannon’s Harding sees his cushy job as rubber stamping the policies of more capable experts. “It’s all in knowing who to trust,” he proclaims with tragic naivete.

His trust proves spectacularly misplaced. His smarmy friend Charles Forbes (Joe Taylor) embezzles millions from the Veterans fund. Slick Atty. Gen. Harry Daugherty (Robert F. Lyons), the political puppet master who engineered Harding’s election, is mired in corruption allegations. By the time the Teapot Dome scandal erupts, it’s too late for Harding to make amends.

Shannon makes a heartbreakingly believable case for Harding’s ignorance of and outrage at the abuses of his Cabinet. But the president is guilty as charged on the womanizing front--his well-played conquests include a young staffer (Ranjani Brow) with whom he trysts in an Oval Office closet, and a bitter former teacher (Amy Lindsay) who cashes in handsomely on their spicy history.

Vickery Turner’s adept staging keeps moralizing at bay while giving free rein to insight and emotion, in a rare historical drama that’s both historical and dramatic.

BE THERE

“Everyone’s Friend,” Whitefire Theatre, 13500 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Ends Oct. 3. $12 to $15. (323) 655-TKTS. Running time: 2 hours.