‘Election’ Stumbles in Leap to the Present

Some time capsules resist the crowbar more than others. Here’s a stubborn one: the 1968 “dirty politics musical” titled “How to Steal an Election,” now in a rare revival at the Actors’ Gang.

In the year of Richard Nixon vs. Hubert H. Humphrey vs. George Wallace, “How to Steal an Election” offered a compact off-Broadway primer on presidential elections bought, bartered and swiped throughout American history.

Librettist William F. Brown and composer-lyricist Oscar Brand had the notion of Jazz Age prez Calvin Coolidge materializing in the present day (that is, 1968). There he meets a couple of fervent young protesters, just back from the skull-cracking Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Disillusioned, these two have no taste for the political machine. But what’s wrong with pragmatism, Coolidge wonders? What about learning to work within a corrupt system? Thus Coolidge begins his history lesson, with vignettes and songs depicting cynical power grabs of yore.

The musical “Hair” was already a phenomenon by the time the more modest “How to Steal an Election” came along. You hear the “Hair” influence in such songs as “More of the Same” (a plea for activist involvement) or--sung originally with Sen. Eugene J. McCarthy in mind--”Mr. Might’ve Been.” Brand’s song list also made savvy archival use of existing 19th century campaign tunes.

The Actors’ Gang revival, whose wittiest stroke is costume designer Ann Closs-Farley’s variations on the red, white and blue color scheme, features a substantially tweaked book and score. Much of the work has been done by the authors, the rest by director Brent Hinkley. (Hinkley’s father performed in the New York production 32 years ago; so did the father of executive producer Tim Robbins.)

The show is set in the present day. Its protesters, Jerry (Ken Elliott) and April (Evie Peck), are still smarting from their experience at the Seattle anti-World Trade Organization demonstration. This isn’t much of a parallel to the Chicago ’68 riots, and so the revival gets off to a shaky start.

New songs include a turn for the Clinton family cat, Socks (well, “new” is relative), plus a Nixon ditty (“18 Minutes and 30 Seconds,” given full and enjoyable jowl by actor Don Luce). Even with the references to Al Gore and George W. Bush and Ralph Nader and Nike sweatshops, “How to Steal an Election” can’t make the leap from ’68 to ’00.

Hinkley and company stylize it what-for, aiming at a performance style mixing agit-prop, commedia, Living Newspaper and vaudeville. That’s not a juncture for the timid. Here, it leads to a lot of yelling. In the main, the actors act as if their yelling makes everything.

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The best of the bunch are Steven M. Porter and Andrew Wheeler, who know how to go long without running out of bounds. Visually, with his white-face mug (a motif in this production) beneath a sad-sack fedora, Gary Kelley’s Coolidge is effective on his own terms, evoking silent comic Harry Langdon, though for “Silent Cal,” Kelley’s awfully shrill. (Nothing deadpan about this prez.)

In the end you’re left with the best of Brand’s score, nicely arranged for piano and drums by Dave Ossmann. “How to Steal an Election” remains a heartfelt ’68 curio. It’d take a tough-love campaign to make it sing in the year of Al and Dubya.

* “How to Steal an Election,” the Actors’ Gang, 6201 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Thursdays through Sundays, 8 p.m.; also, 2 p.m. Sept. 17 (no evening show that day). Ends Sept. 23. $15. (323) 465-0566, Ext. 3. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.

Gary Kelley: Calvin Coolidge

Evie Peck: April

Ken Elliott: Jerry

Don Luce: Richard M. Nixon, others

Steven M. Porter: William Henry Harrison, others

Andrew Wheeler: Lyndon Baines Johnson, others

Juliet Landau: Susan B. Anthony, others

Elizabeth Tobias: Victoria Woodhull, others

M Brauer: Tilden’s Nanny, others

Victoria Cunningham: Luisa Swain, others

Patrick Rowe: Socks the cat, others

Book by William F. Brown. Music and lyrics by Oscar Brand. Directed and adapted by Brent Hinkley. Musical director Dave Ossmann. Choreographer Lindsley Allen. Scenic artist Karen Steward. Costumes by Ann Closs-Farley. Lighting by David F. Hahn. Stage manager Amanda MacIndoe Gratton.