Off-Broadway Review: N/A (Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center)

NOT APPLICABLE

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) are two of the brightest political stars ever to walk the halls of the Capitol. Still in her thirties, Ocasio-Cortez aka “AOC”, hails from a working-class background and, since her 2018 election, has unabashedly fought to put progressive goals and concerns at the forefront of the political conversation. Former Speaker Pelosi, a multi-millionaire from a political family, has had a distinguished, four-decade career; busting down doors for women and building coalitions and political capital where none existed. Pelosi has seized and maintained formidable power and, if nothing else, is an expert in the realities of federal legislation. While AOC is possibly still on a learning curve for some of these time-tested strategies, she is keenly in touch with the needs of her generation and, like Pelosi, wants to make substantial change that benefits all Americans. And it is no secret that the professional and personal relationship between these two colleagues has been less than collegial. And this disunity seems to be the sole point of playwright Mario Correa’s cursory new play N/A, which opened last night at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center.

Spanning the few years from AOC’s first days in Congress to Pelosi’s decision to not seek re-election to the Speakership, Correa imagines behind-the-scenes conversations between the two, some of which have been reported in the media. Correa uses well-known incidents during their tenure together, including January 6, to anchor these possibly fictional exchanges of dialogue. And Correa’s writing can sometimes be funny or crackling or both. However, the point of this exercise in “what if” is not clear. In Correa’s reductive hands, both women are little more than positions, with Pelosi being the more sympathetic interpretation. Even with strong performances from Holland Taylor as Pelosi or “N” and Ana Villafañe  as AOC or “A”, there’s little new insight or depth revealed in Correa’s script or the production.

Actually, the two characters never address each other by their given names so, though it’s obvious who they are portraying, perhaps Correa is trying to explore something larger about establishment vs. new ideas? If that’s the case, the scales are definitely tipped in the establishment’s favor. “N” is the wise, experienced legislator, trying to keep her patience while teaching this newbie the reality of how things work. “A” is presented as an insufferable know-it-all, only interested in the rightness of her position. There seems to be no context or consideration behind “A’s” stances, only emotion. Thus, “A” is mostly one note while “N” is more fleshed out and human. It is curious that Pelosi and Ocasio-Cortez, two such intelligent and complicated women, are distilled in this limiting way.

Also, with the engaging Holland Taylor doing what she does best, there is little sense of the ruthlessness or “iron fist” that kept Pelosi in power, tilting the production even more in “N’s” favor.   To her credit, Villafañe tries to lay in some justification for “A’s” laser focus but it’s an uphill slog. Director Diane Paulus does a good job of keeping things moving on Myung Hee Cho’s wisely minimalist set, even if Correa’s script cuts to a number of short scenes probably more appropriate for film than stage. However, Paulus smartly keeps the focus on the human relationship beneath the political posturing, even if that relationship, in the playwright’s hands, feels more frustrated mother vs. headstrong daughter than politicians fighting for a nation.

N/A offers an imagined take into conversations between name-brand politicos. It’s always fun to imagine and, from that standpoint, there are some well-performed and funny exchanges. However, nothing is presented in this new work that can’t be gleaned from existing books or articles about these two governmental warriors. At one point, N refers to advice A said her mother once gave her with the Speaker reminding the Junior Congresswoman to “…leave things better than she found them.” Might be good advice for N/A to follow as well.

photos by Daniel Rader