Enron Play Gets Second Chance In Chicago

It appears that Lucy Prebble’s Enron will get a second chance at success in Chicago. Reports indicate that the show will appear on January 2012 at the Timeline Theatre. I’ve looked up the show times, and was unable to buy tickets (they aren’t on sale yet). Yes, I will go see it this time because though I fear this is more anti-Enron junk, I am curious.

Incidentally while I’m there I can check out the Enron Liquids Pipeline Company:

And I love the fact that Arthur Andersen is still operating below the radar.

Enron Play To Close

Despite its Tony nominations, Enron, the Broadway play, will close Sunday at a loss of between $3.5 million and $4 million. Enron opened last month to lukewarm reviews, but only managed 15 performances before its demise.

I am oddly unmoved by this. I didn’t like Enron (the company) being mocked but don’t feel any tremendous joy that Enron (the play) is closing. I did want to see the Raptors though.

Weissmann Catches Enron Play

Bloomberg has the story of Weissmann watching the play then having dinner with the interviewer after, and complaining that only Sherron Watkins stood up and said something was wrong.

This is a lie. Sherron Watkins did not say there was anything wrong. She said there was a PR problem, and if there was fraud, she wanted in on it.

She admitted to insider trading under oath in a federal courtroom.

She was not a hero; she was a lying coward.

But Weissmann sees it differently. It’s an intriguing article. I wonder, if Jeff Skilling were free, if he’d watch it. I know that none of the executives I’ve talked to have seen it. I imagine its not on their list of Things To Do Before I Die.

Enroncore

I don’t know what to call this. It starts out as a review of the Enron play and then goes all over the place. A fun read, but keep in mind that the author, Mimi Schwarts, assisted Sherron Watkins in her go-nowhere tell-all, Power Failure. So just remember she’s got skin in the game by portraying the real Enron in a negative light.

Will Enron Play Make It On Broadway?

The Guardian questions whether American audiences will be as receptive to the Lucy Prebble play as English ones.

Apparently there is doubt. The article discusses a brief recreation of 9/11, which is all well and good if you’re a Brit who didn’t have to ingest jet fuel on that fateful day, but perhaps New Yorkers might take a more sombre tone with that event.

Plus the big stars are not name-brands.

From my point of view, these aren’t the major problems with the play. Indeed, the hindrance to getting butts in chairs is that the economy in the USA doesn’t feel like a laughing matter. Just last summer, SEIU members picketed the homes of AIG executives. Oil executives were denigrated by no less than the President. People have an unfair and class-envy based hatred of executives right now.

My beliefs about the Enron executives are well known and I leave no room for doubt: with the exception of a very small group in the Global Finance group, they’re innocent. However, I know that many do not believe that. If they still hate Enron execs as much as they hate today’s whipping boy – insurance execs – I don’t expect the play to be as grand a success as it was in Britain.

That said, I still want tickets.

Enron Kabballah Lesson of the Day

When I lived in New York, I never saw any plays or the ballet (I did see the ballet a few times in DC though.) Now that I am no longer anywhere close to New York, the only show that I think I absolutely must see, is playing.

I hate to admit this so I confess contritely, I want to see the Enron play.

I do! I want to see it! I want to hate it even as I’m enthralled by it.

I wonder if I would care so much if I still lived in New York. I mean, I wonder if I’d feel the need to see a play that is widely considered one of the most powerful anti-Enron messages since the company collapsed. Or if I’d just shrug my shoulders and check out a gallery or whatever.

Today’s lesson: being thankful for where you are, because one day you won’t be there anymore.

(Cross posted on the Cara Ellison Blog.)

Do You Secretly Want To Be Jeff Skilling?

Now is your chance!

Lucy Prebble is looking for actors to play the Enron principals. Pay starts at $1605 per week.

The description of Jeff:

Jeffrey Skilling: Caucasian man, 42. Starts off as an outsider in the Enron Corporation and ultimately becomes a leading player and a “shark in a suit.” Manipulative, charismatic, intellectual, ambitious, and an economic genius from the Midwest. Very American and patriotic. Grows increasingly confident and powerful throughout the story. Charming in a distrustful way. At the cusp of the highest step of his career. Fascinated by the unknown and potential. He is NOT a villain. LEAD.

Really? He’s not a villain? But he’s a “shark in a suit”? I guess this is what they mean by “complexity”?

Andy Fastow: Caucasian man, early – late 30s. Financial genius whose work is largely kept quiet. Funny, nerdy, unsettled, eager and constantly wanting to impress and appease Jeffrey Skilling. STRONG SUPPORTING LEAD.

Ken Lay: Caucasian man, early – late 60s. Easy, convivial man who runs Enron. Strong, stalwart executive businessman with practiced southern hospitality and a strong ability to strategize. No sentimentality. STRONG SUPPORTING LEAD.

Not liking these descriptions.

Claudia Roe: Caucasian woman, early to late 30s – early 40s. Very attractive southern executive in the upper echelon of Enron. Very intelligent and business savvy, but not opposed to using her sexual and feminine side to advance her career. Casually seductive, opportunistic and competitive. STRONG SUPPORTING LEAD.

I own the copyright on this character. She’s called Cara Ellison? Maybe you’ve heard of her?

ALL ACTORS BELOW REQUIRE EXCELLENT PHYSICAL MOVEMENT AND SHOULD BE ABLE TO CARRY A TUNE:

Four Traders: Men, any ethnicity, late 20s – early 30s. Very physical; some gymnastic or clown-like and some more character-based (perhaps nerdy, nervous, etc). Funny. Any physical type (short, tall, thin, stout, etc). All of these roles have multiple lines in several scenes.

Security Officer / Trader: Latino or African American man, 30s. Security Officer: Physically imposing. Strong, a family man. Plays a strong scene with Jeffrey Skilling.

Arthur Andersen: Caucasian man, late 30s – mid 40s. Oldest trader on the floor. Southern. Needs to have the weight and heft of someone who is accustomed to the finance business. Actor may also understudy Ken Lay.

Lawyer / Trader / U/S Jeffrey Skilling: Man, any ethnicity, 40. Defense attorney for Jeffrey Skilling. Sharp, concise. Opens the play by explaining the conflict.

Senator / Trader: Man, any ethnicity, 40s – 50s. Also must be physically agile, regardless of his body type. Actor may understudy Ken Lay.

Co-Anchor News Reporter: Caucasian woman, 20s – 30s. Southern. Sings “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the beginning of the show. Co-anchor of a cable news program. Needs to have a face for television. Actress may understudy Claudia Roe.

Congresswoman / Business Analyst / Irene Gant: Woman, any ethnicity, late 40s – early 50s. Congresswoman: From Texas. Funny. Three important acting scenes. Business Analyst: Determines the economic climate of Enron. Irene Gant: Enron employee who was the biggest victim of the scandal after losing all her money. Has an important, large scene with Jeffrey Skilling.

Hewitt / Co-Anchor News Reporter / Prostitute: Non-Caucasian woman, 30s. Hewitt: Enron board member. Prostitute: Good scene with Jeffrey Skilling.

Daughter: Caucasian girl, 6 – 8 years old. Jeffrey’s Skilling’s daughter. Small role.

A prostitute with a “good scene” with Jeff Skilling? I yi yi.

And I’ve heard Skilling’s daughter is the Cindy Lou Who who figures out her daddy is a “shark in a suit”. At 6 to 8 years old.

I am personally disgusted by that. All the Enron executives have children. It is unfair to even talk about them; they are private individuals. But to use them – even creatively – seems wretched. Just awful.