Burning Bush: A Faith-Based Musical

Page history last edited by Noah Diamond 11 mos ago

 

The Burning Bush logo; Brian Louis Hoffman as Bush and Corey Moosa as Jesus in a scene from Burning Bush

 

Burning Bush: A Faith-Based Musical (2005) is a musical play written by Noah Diamond and Amanda Sisk. Burning Bush was the second show produced under the Nero Fiddled banner, preceded by City Under Siege (2004), and the first chapter in the Burning Bush trilogy, followed by Moral Value Meal (2006). A satirical biography of George W. Bush, the show relates his life story and the implications of his presidency. It premiered in September of 2005 at HERE Arts Center in New York City. It was produced in association with HERE and the Immediate Theater Company.

 

Scenes 

 

  • "Who's Bush"
  • "I Cannot Tell the Truth"
  • "The Facts"
  • "Bush in Love"
  • "The Finger Report"
  • "Peenack"
  • "The Pet Goat"
  • "ECPOO"
  • "Working Vacation"
  • "11/2/04"
  • "Fascist Parents"
  • "The Passion of the Bush"

 

(Another sketch, "The 9/11 Commission," was performed during the initial run but cut after the show was extended.) 

 

Musical Numbers

 

  • "Who's Bush"
  • "Karl Rove"
  • "The Creature"
  • "Jesus's Jihad"
  • "The Election Was Stolen"
  • "You Voted Republican"
  • "Alberto Gonzales"
  • "On the March"

 

Original Production

 

Burning Bush opened on September 15, 2005 at HERE Arts Center. The original run, three performances, quickly sold out, and the show was extended through October 16.  Martin Denton of nytheatre.com wrote that Burning Bush was "galvanizing and energizing," "very funny," and "envelope-pushing," as well as "the most politically motivated show I've seen in NYC in a long time. Hardly anything could be more American than that."

 

Musical Arrangements by Drew Brady, Mike Biskup, Boris Veysman, and Steve Dans. Lighting design by Christopher Brown. Board operator Ayumu "Poe" Saegusa. Co-produced by Corey Moosa. Directed by Noah Diamond and Amanda Sisk.

 

Cast

 

 

Band

 

 

Biskup, Veysman, and Dans are members of the band Deathmask.

 

 

Synopsis

 

Under the American flag, a rock band appears (Overture), followed by the Narrator, who explains that George W. Bush was "the kind of child who liked to torture small animals." In consultation with a doctor, Barbara Bush frets about her son, who at the age of six discovers his calling: abusing the frogs which populate the yard after the rain. The company pays tribute to the young savant, in the spirit of Tommy ("Who’s Bush"). Bush's father gives his son a hatchet ("one of the axes of evil"), which he swiftly employs in the destruction of an olive tree. "Father, I cannot tell the truth," he says. "That tree recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."
 
After Bush's adolescence is outlined by Liberal Girl and her friends, he meets his soul mate -- and a girl named Laura, whom he quickly marries. In a plaintive country ballad, she laments being the third wheel ("Karl Rove"). Bush's father, now the President, appears on TV's The Finger Report to boast of his Gulf War victory. As a trophy, he wears the moustache of Saddam Hussein. When asked by host Brent Finger why he didn’t attempt an invasion of Iraq, the elder Bush replies, "Without the support of our allies? With no viable exit strategy? No good president would do that."
 

Having become Governor of Texas, Bush tells Laura over dinner that the Project for the New American Century has drafted him for a presidential run. He explains that his victory has already been arranged, then struts off for an interview with reporter Mopsy Jimenez-Tippington. Meanwhile, "a group of Americans living in terror" emerges from the shadows ("The Creature") to sing of "a threat unlike any other": "I don't know what it is / But I know its name is Cheney."

 

Having seized the presidency, Bush sits in a Florida classroom, struggling with the text of The Pet Goat. Andy Card enters with terrible news, as the children in the classroom face the audience and ask unanswered questions about the events of September 11, 2001. Bush "continues to climb his literary Everest" as members of the Evangelical Christian Political Operative Organization (ECPOO) proclaim the start of the Great American Holy War ("Jesus's Jihad"). "Just as God spoke to Moses," proclaims Vivian, "He now speaks to us -- through a Bush. A BURNING BUSH!" The Narrator explains, "There were bigger frogs to torture." During a "working vacation," Bush and Donald Rumsfeld plan the invasion of Iraq; they fail to notice Osama bin Laden, who makes off with the war plans, and with Laura.
 
Meanwhile, in the American heartland, the impact of the Bush presidency is acutely felt. A young woman confronts her mother over their political differences ("You Voted Republican"), joined by their gay neighbor and Jesus Christ. The Bush machine swipes a second term ("The Election Was Stolen"), and a family sends its kids off to Baghdad. One lovesick girl proclaims her love for the Attorney General, despite his abusive ways. "Alberto Gonzales," she sings, "you're torturing me!"
 

In the Oval Office, Bush is visited by Jesus, who asks that his name be excluded from the rhetoric. The two are engaged in a spirited debate when three angry protesters enter, determined to hold Bush accountable for war crimes. They drag him away to be crucified, and Jimenez-Tippington returns to explain that newly sworn-in President Cheney has disposed of his predecessor's remains in a rather tasteless fashion. Stricken with guilt, the protesters tell Jesus that they themselves are no better than Bush. Using a trick he once saw in a movie, Jesus reverses time. The Bush era continues, but before vanishing, Jesus dispatches new marching orders: "Get the Congress back and impeach the son of a bitch!" Bush laughs maniacally as the company sums up his political doctrine ("On the March").

 

 

Max Fleming involvement

 

Big Band crooner Max Fleming was to emerge from retirement to perform one song in Burning Bush, entitled "Please Step Down." Due to health reasons, Fleming parted amicably with the production midway through the rehearsal process.

 

 

See also

 

 
 

External links

 

 

 

 

 

 

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