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Audrey Yue 7063

Willshire

AP Literature, Per. 1

21 October 2010

Critique of the Play FDR

The play FDR, written by Dore Schary, staring Ed Asner (Franklin Roosevelt) told the

story of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s life as a president, from 1933 to 1945. It focuses on the

man’s battle with polio and politics and it reveals the very human and personal side of the

president. The play was 90 minutes long with no intermission. The cast was a cast of one. The

setting of the play takes place in Roosevelt’s office in the white house. The play focuses on

Roosevelt’s monologue of his life. The idea of the play was to see time pass by in scene of

office.

First, I felt that the structure of the play was interesting. I originally thought that the play

was going to be a reenactment of one of the most crucial moments of F. D. Roosevelt’s life. I

was surprised to see it was a one-man-act. In the play, FDR would speak his thoughts to the

audience about the things he was experiencing. Imaginary people came and went through his

office and the audience watched the conversation between Roosevelt and unseen people.

Whether it’s the fault of the play writer or the fault of the actor, I felt that the transitions in the

play were awkward and unnoticeable. For example, one moment Ed Asner (Roosevelt) would be

speaking to the audience, talking about the events around him, and reflecting on issues of the

time. All of a sudden, there would be a shift and suddenly Roosevelt is talking to an unseen

person. Of course, we as the audience can’t see the people walk in. It was confusing at times

because it was hard to decipher who Roosevelt was talking to. One moment it would seem he
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was talking to the audience, then next he would mention a name like “Harry!” or “Anna” and I

would realize, a little too late, that he was no longer talking to the audience. I felt that pauses, or

cues was needed when switching between talking to the audience or the unseen characters.

However, one advantage of the way the play was structured was that it was able to portray the

more personal side of Roosevelt. His thoughts and his troubles were told to the audience and a

very human side was portrayed in the play. We didn’t see Franklin Roosevelt: our great president

who served three full terms, who pulled us out of the Great Depression, and led us through

WWII. We saw Franklin Roosevelt: family man, a man who cares for his subordinates, a man

who struggles with a chronic illness, a man who gets hurt at the slanders against him, a man who

is speechless when he receives the telephone call about Pearl Harbor, and a man who cries when

he tells his friends that the war he is leading has taken the lives of his friends’ sons. I think that

Ed Asner did a fantastic job in humanizing Roosevelt.

Regarding the plot and substance of the play, it was clear that one really had to know

history in order to truly understand the play. This was not a play meant for those of little

knowledge of Roosevelt. Since it was a monologue, there was no explaining of who was who.

Imaginary and unseen characters came and went, explained only by the very, very small clues in

the dialogue of Roosevelt. It’s my opinion that the beginning of the play was very slow moving.

There beginning of the play seemed to play more to people’s humor. Even the part about the

Great Depression had some humor thrown in. I think the turning moment in both the play and

Asner’s acting was when the time period reached the date of Pearl Harbor. I think the plot was

written very well for this scene. The plot and the events in the play were building up to Pearl

Harbor, but in an unexpected way. The audience knew disaster was going to strike, but nothing

in Roosevelt’s words made it obvious when it was going to happen. The audience felt the shock
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that the character felt, making it seem realistic. When the phone rang in the office, Asner

portrayed a shocked and speechless Roosevelt, slowly leading into panic, and then into fury.

Devastation was clearly portrayed. The structure of the play was an advantage to this scene

because it allowed the audience to understand Roosevelt’s thoughts as he was going through this

devastating news. From the moment of Pearl Harbor and after, the play focused on FDR’s

struggle and his determination.

FDR’s death was hinted at in the play. Asner gave small and subtle hints that his

character’s health was worsening. It was very realistic acting and Asner successfully conveyed

Roosevelt’s emotions while paying close attention to detail to portray the fact that Roosevelt was

a sickly man. In the final scene, Roosevelt gets up from his office chair, talking about his trip to

Warm Springs. As he walks off the stage, it’s clear that the aged Roosevelt can hardly move on

his own. As the lights dim, it’s obvious to the audience that the great president’s life is ending

soon.