David Hare's "Stuff Happens"

On September 1, 2006, I got two tickets for the one-night only reading of David Hare's Stuff Happens. The reading took place at Central Park's Delacorte Theater on Sept. 6.

I can tell you that it was pretty much ok but I was bored, tired and not really that interested after 40 minutes of the reading. It basically chronicled the Bush administration's run-up to the war in Iraq.

Jay O. Sanders as President George W. Bush

I actually got pretty good seats so I was able to see Jay O. Saunders and Gloria Reuben up close and that was awesome. You are not allowed to take pictures inside the theater so I have gotten a few from the Internet.

Here is some info from the internet!

The Public Theater produced the reading. Hare's critically acclaimed historical drama about the United States' path to war in Iraq ended its oft-extended run at The Public (Theater) downtown on June 25, 2006. I was not aware of this and did not attend, however after learning I could get free reserved tickets for the reading I snatched them up. The sad thing is that no one else wanted to go with me. The war in Iraq is not something anyone is interested in spending time learning about after a hard days work I guess.

Gloria Reuben as Condoleezza Rice

The reading featured much of the original cast, including:

Jay O. Sanders as President George W. Bush
George Bartenieff as Hans Blix and Jack Straw
Glenn Fleshler as George Tenet
Zach Grenier as Dick Cheney
Lameece Issaq as a Palestinian Academic
Peter Francis James as Colin Powell
Ken Marks as David Manning and Michael Gerson
David Pittu as Paul Wolfowitz and Sir Richard Dearlove
Gloria Reuben as Condoleezza Rice
Thomas Schall as Alastair Campbell and Jeremy Greenstock
Robert Sella as an Angry Journalist and Dominique De Villepin
Brenda Wehle as a New Labour Politician and Laura Bush
Waleed F. Zuaiter as an Iraqi Exile and Trevor Mac.

Zach Grenier as Dick Cheney

Also in the cast were:

Reed Birney as Prime Minister Tony Blair
Larry Pine as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
Tony Carlin as Jonathan Powell and Robin Cook

The show officially opened at the Public Theater April 13, 2006, after previews from March 28, 2006, to some of the best reviews of the season. Before the opening, the play extended its run by four weeks to May 28. The initial run sold out. A further extension took it to June 25, making the production one of the most successful Off-Broadway ventures of the 2005-06 season.

David Pittu as Paul Wolfowitz and Sir Richard Dearlove

The show's entire ensemble was awarded Drama Desk Awards, and stars Byron Jennings and Peter Francis James received Obie Awards.

The title is taken from a phrase used by Donald Rumsfeld when grilled by reporters about the widespread public violence that overtook Iraq following the American invasion in 2003. At the same press conference, he said "Freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things."