The U.S. verges on war -- and you are there

To go to war or not to go to war. That was the question.

Written during the aftermath of official combat in Iraq and the buildup to the 2004 presidential campaign, David Hare’s “Stuff Happens” premiered last September on Britain’s most prominent stage to standing-room-only crowds, international attention and enthusiastic reviews from London’s critics.

Nine months later, “stuff” continues to happen in Iraq -- yet polls report that Americans are turning their attention away from our involvement in the Middle East. The big question for those awaiting the U.S. premiere of Hare’s latest work has been: Is “Stuff Happens” still relevant?

The intelligence gathered on opening night Sunday proves the answer to be conclusive: yes.

Many will no doubt come to the Mark Taper Forum play expecting to see Bush-bashing on a grand scale. But thankfully, Hare’s characterization of the 43rd president of the United States is unique among current portraits, fictional or otherwise. The playwright chooses not to demonize or lionize him. Rather, Hare shrewdly depicts George W. Bush as a man whose power derives simply from the stubbornness of his convictions (regardless of their origins) and the lack of similar fortitude on the part of those who oppose him.

At the National Theatre last year, the Bush role suffered from a British actor (Alex Jennings) trying to do a “Dubya” impersonation. At the Taper, Keith Carradine uses his own brand of charm rather than attempting an approximation of someone else’s. Posture, ticks and vocal tendencies are not imitated. The result is a finely tuned performance that is certainly more convincing than his London predecessor was and perhaps even more convincing than the genuine article.

Interestingly, given Hare’s productivity and politics, this is only his second work to be seen on the Taper stage (1997 saw Brian Cox in an excellent production of Hare’s “Skylight”). No matter. “Stuff Happens” is like a crash course in Hare’s many styles -- especially his long-acknowledged skill with one-on-one dialogue, as well as his recent mastery in making nonfiction come to life on stage.

Hare is helped with the latter at the Taper by a strong supporting cast that never suggests mere talking heads.

Two actors in particular resemble their real-life counterpoints so closely that one is tempted to call the Secret Service. First there’s John Michael Higgins as Donald Rumsfeld. Not only does the actor (a veteran of many stage plays as well as Christopher Guest’s character-based moc-docs) capture the lazy yet arrogant tone of Rumsfeld’s infamous patter, he perfectly mimics even the way the secretary of Defense holds his pen.

Then there is Dick Cheney’s Dakin Matthews -- I mean Dakin Matthews’ Dick Cheney. Those who have seen Matthews’ recent work in the epic Lincoln Center “Henry IV” or the tiny Andak Stages “Prince of L.A.” know that he is one of the country’s finest actors. With his confident presence -- and the ability to scowl and speak out of the side of his mouth in exactly the manner of the V.P. -- Matthews almost steals the show.

In this large cast there is only one disappointment: Julian Sands as British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Nicholas Farrell, who originated the role in London, was an inspired mix of optimism and oiliness, but he could also, like the P.M. himself, deliver a great speech. Sands wanders around the stage like a child lost at Harrods and when called on to speak, the British actor is unable to project his voice and persuade an audience, no less a nation.

Tyrees Allen plays Secretary of State Colin Powell as a righteous mouthpiece for those who oppose the war. Allen’s Powell shouts down the president in a meeting and shows open disdain for the more hawkish Cabinet members, two things that America’s “reluctant warrior” would likely never do. His performance is, at face value, quite engaging, but it strains the credibility of an otherwise faithful production of Hare’s temperate and well-researched play.

Other performers are worthy of praise (Stephen Spinella, Alan Oppenheimer, Lorraine Toussaint), but ultimately the main credit for the success of “Stuff” must go to Gordon Davidson.

For the London staging, in the vast Olivier Theatre, Nicholas Hytner strove for panoramic spectacle; at the 750-seat Taper, director Davidson scales the stagecraft down, wisely showcasing the work as a chamber drama. With the help of noted set designer Ming Cho Lee, Davidson makes the stage an extension of the audience, which creates a setting true to the ideals of a real forum: a public meeting place for open discussion.

Davidson chose this piece to be his directorial finale at the Taper, and it is a perfect capstone to his career. Hare’s play addresses many issues, but at its heart, “Stuff Happens” is about diplomacy. As the head of an artistic but bureaucratic operation like the Taper, Davidson likely knows a thing or two about selfless negotiation and compromise in the service of larger, nobler goals. This deep understanding brings real nuance to the key scene in the play: a diplomatic lunch at the Hotel Pierre, that serves as a showdown between Powell and French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin. As we all know now, the diplomacy hammered out at that lunch did not hold; on March 19, 2003, air raid sirens in Baghdad signaled the start of war.

We in this country have largely been experiencing the conflict in Iraq through the technology of the Internet, embedded journalists and other advances in the name of bringing us closer to war’s truths. Hare and Davidson, through the power of live theater, bring us closer still.

“Stuff Happens” may make you openly boo, hiss, cheer or even cry but it will also remind you of why this 2,500-year-old art form remains the best way for human beings to collectively experience and contemplate the effects of war.

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‘Stuff Happens’

Where: Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays

Ends: July 17

Price: $34-$52

Contact: (213) 628-2772

Running Time: 3 hours

Keith Carradine...George W. Bush

Jane Carr...Laura Bush

Dakin Matthews...Dick Cheney

John Michael Higgins...Donald

Rumsfeld

Tyrees Allen...Colin Powell

Lorraine Toussaint...Condoleezza Rice

Julian Sands... Tony Blair

Stephen Spinella...Dominique de

Villepin, Jonathan Powell

Mitchell Edmonds...George Tenet, John Negroponte

Kip Gilman...Paul Wolfowitz, Alan Simpson

James Handy...Paul O’Neill,

Sen. John McCain, Jacques Chirac

Alan Oppenheimer...Hans Blix

Written by David Hare. Directed by Gordon Davidson. Scenic design by Ming Cho Lee. Costumes by Candice Cain. Lighting by Christopher Akerlind. Sound by Jon Gottlieb. Music by Karl Fredrik Lundeberg. Production stage manager Mary Michele Miner.