Roger Sanders and Dana Scott Galloway present the New York premiere of The Klunch’s production of LAURA BUSH KILLED A GUY by Ian Allen. Directed by John Vreeke, the production stars Lisa Hodsoll, who received a 2107 Helen Hayes Award nomination for her portrayal of the former First Lady in the acclaimed Washington DC premiere.

Laura Bush is an enigma wrapped in another enigma. She is shy, bookish, beautiful, and in 1963, she blew through a stop sign and killed a guy. It was probably just an accident. Perhaps it was simply youthful recklessness. Or maybe, just maybe… it was murder! In LAURA BUSH KILLED A GUY, join Mrs. Bush for an evening of real-life reminiscences: of her childhood in Texas (untrue?), of her marriage to George W. Bush (a sham?), and of their rapid ascent to the very pinnacle of world power (an abomination?).

LAURA BUSH KILLED A GUY is an alternately silly and surreal comedy that looks to shine light on the intersection of fact and fiction – a topic more timely now than ever – as memories fade, and Laura Bush and her husband’s administration start to look like, well, maybe they weren’t so bad after all.

“Tell the truth, if you could have us back — well, wouldn’t you?” So asks Laura Bush (winningly played by Lisa Hodsoll) to the audience as she takes them through a series of vignettes of her life from two days after her 17th birthday, when she killed a high school classmate, to the state of present-day politics. Playing in downtown Manhattan at the Flea Theatre, Laura Bush Killed a Guy is a fascinating show, with minimalist materials other than the subject’s life story. With nothing more than an elegant armchair and a photo of her husband on the wall (a simple yet effective set by Kim Deane), Laura Bush engages her audience with her smile and words. Lighting by David C. Ghutan and sound by Lucas Zarwell help guide the story and loop it back to the titular vignette, in which Laura adds more details to tell everyone of this event that shaped her life. Ian Allen’s opus Laura Bush Killed a Guy takes its title from a 2008 episode of Seth McFarland’s Family Guy, which is when I personally learned of this tragedy. Mrs. Bush in the play specifically references this episode and how it regularly changes the Google searches of her name. She also mentions that her husband, George W. Bush, lov …Read more