Cast List (with nomination possibilities out of 10)
NY Times Review Excerpts: A Torn Land of Torn Hearts Lost in a Mist of Deception By BEN BRANTLEY You can start salivating now. After many months of serving the theatrical equivalent of half-thawed TV dinners, Broadway has finally delivered a juicy gourmet's banquet of a play. Michael Frayn's "Democracy," which opened last night at the Brooks Atkinson Theater, is one of those rare dramas that don't just dare to think big but that fully translate their high aspirations to the stage, with sharp style and thrilling clarity. For New York theatergoers who have endured the recent spate of dutiful revivals and misconceived star vehicles, watching Mr. Frayn's gripping study of the fraught glory years of Chancellor Willy Brandt of West Germany and the spy who loved him is like riding a wave after dog paddling in shallow waters. The miracle of "Democracy" is that it traces this idea of multiplicity on so many equally satisfying levels: within Brandt, who speaks often of the different identities he has assumed throughout his life and agonizes over roads not taken; within every man who works for him; within the mongrel divided nation that was Germany in the early 1970's. And while you may well draw specific parallels to contemporary figures and events (Bill Clinton as Brandt, anyone?), it's this play's infinite open-endedness that makes it such a treasure. With "Copenhagen" and "Democracy," Mr. Frayn has singlehandedly rejuvenated the biographical drama by making its boundaries porous, so that against the odds it feels as universal as it does particular. -------------------------------- TONY AWARDS HAVEN OPINION: Raves all over, best play is looking good. Box office is strong, we'll have to see how "Gem of the Ocean" fares, because right now, it seems like its the only competition for Democracy.
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