As soon as we stepped inside, I realized we had been here before, but it had never registered. This is about as off-off Broadway as you can expect, but the quality of the material is excellent. I had been drawn to this play by a review in one my favorite NYC Guide, Time Out/NY . Normally, we would have taken a train to get there, but because I was on crutches, we were forced to take a cab on a night when the transit strike was threatening to hit the next morning.

As you enter the theater, it takes the appearance of a bookstore with a cash register to the left. Ads and leaflets are everywhere for the taking, and so are classified ads. Some couches and chairs line the walls for those who are waiting, and there is a small refreshment bar that was not terribly well stocked that evening, but they had Cokes. The walls were replete with original paintings of George W. Bush, walking, as he does, on the White House lawn, or some other verdant area; the writing was on the walls, literally. This was a farcical tragedy, written by Jean-Claude van Itallie , a slight man with a formidable head of white hair and an easy manner.

We were led into the intimate seating area, and the front row of chairs was just far enough for me, and I couldn’t have had a better seat. Staring straight ahead and slightly elevated was a portrait of Barbara Bush, as the presidential emblem, with claws and interesting disfigurations. The Oval Office was, well, oval and the set was very simple, but very telling. An emperor’s chair was behind a plain wooden table, and to its right, a full size mirror. Ken Perlstein, of the Actors Equity Association, fills the shoes of Emperor Butch. By evening’s end, he had me convinced he was indeed our fearless leader. Karl Rove appears as Rover, a hound (with flappy ears, tail and all) with the unmistakable rim glasses on his nose. It’s hilarious to watch the master being trained by the dog. Laura Bush appears as Mommy, General Pow-Pow portrays Colin Powell, Vice Emperor Big Money is always at an undisclosed location, so you never really see him, but his voice is always there.

There is no resemblance whatsoever to the actual "first children", but rather there has been a subtle substitution for those that were Barbara Bush’s offspring. We learn of a a sister that lived between Jeb and George and who was killed, and never mourned by the elder Bushes. There are hints that the administration may have had a role in 9/11; we are left to wonder about many inconsistencies between action and rhetoric.

Aside from this being an amazingly enjoyable piece of "verité" (truth), we had the pleasure of speaking to the writer and members of the cast right after this play ended. How fortunate we were.