Tim Robbins 'You Can’t Be Polite in a Satire'

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In his new 90-minute play, “Embedded,” which opens March 14 at the Public Theater in New York, Robbins offers a scathing look at President George W. Bush’s cabal of advisors—depicting them as manipulative neo-conservatives hidden behind masks (though easily identifiable by names like “Rum-Rum,” “Woof,” and “Dick”) who plot the invasion of “Gomorrah” from the safety of their offices, plugging in dates on their PDAs to determine when to launch the war. The title comes from the unprecedented military program that enabled journalists to “embed” with military units while they covered the war—an arrangement which doesn’t seem to impress Robbins. The play also tells the stories of a private named Jen-Jen (modeled on Jessica Lynch) and her fellow soldiers on the ground, whom Robbins portrays as victims of the war, along with Iraqi civilians caught in the crossfire.

Though the play is satirical, Robbins incorporates just enough detail from reports on the war (even using actual quotes from some newspaper and radio dispatches) that it’s sometimes hard to decipher what is real and what is parody. For Robbins, that’s sort of the point. He wants the audience to question whether they are being told the truth by the government, military and media. Whether audience members agree with his depiction or not, Robbins says he hopes the play gets them talking.

NEWSWEEK’s Jennifer Barrett spoke to the actor-director about his work onstage, on-screen and on the streets—and the reactions it’s provoked. Excerpts: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4516588/

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

1. If I were in New York

I'd go to see this play at least twice, just to support these types of satires.

[DBoon]

2. Saw it LA in December

I'm very grateful for the abundance of small theater in this town - a culrural advantage that is not well known enough.

Tix were only $25 each as well.