Why should the nation care about a harmless bit of screwing? This is the intriguing question posed by Monica! The Musical as it spoofs, ridicules, and cartoons our former obsession with all things Lewinsky. While in need of sharper focus, this entertaining show nevertheless has moments of brilliance, with real potential to provoke discussion of important issues, both personal and political. The action begins and ends with Bill Clinton, as we follow him in sporadic leaps from 1960's rural Arkansas through his rocky terms as president to his present-day digs in Harlem. Following a chronological timeline, we meet Hillary, Janet Reno, and a host of other political faces that lead to Bill's inevitable encounter with Monica, Kenneth Starr's investigation, and the national scandal that followed.
In a cast comprising several Urinetown alumni, it is perhaps not surprising that Monica! seems to take its cues from that celebrated former Broadway musical and its social satire. Characters are broadly drawn without limits, exaggerating the simple and grotesque, whether it's the overblown, Shakespearean evil of Starr or the vain effeminacy of George Stephanopoulos. And, of course
