Marking 50 years since the death of Robert F. Kennedy, the new solo show “Kennedy: Bobby’s Last Crusade” chronicles the four months of RFK’s 1968 presidential campaign, from his announcement in the Senate Caucus Room to run against Senator McCarthy and President Johnson through to his last speech in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles where he was later fatally shot on June 4th.
The play is written and performed by David Arrow and pulls directly from RFK’s most sympathetic and encouraging speeches on civil rights, poverty, health care and anti-war sentiments in the Democratic party. Director Eric Nightengale constructs a clear world that transitions well between these historic speeches and his more personal reflections.
There’s no disputing that the ’60s were filled with progressive wins and tragic fallout. Robert F. Kennedy built a campaign against the establishment’s support of a senseless war; he challenged gun owners; he fought for health care and shed a light on domestic poverty; he was a civil rights advocate that told white voters they needed to do more and care more for their black neighbors. In “Kennedy: Bobby’s Last Crusade” Bobby poignantly says, “Ever since I decided to run I knew there’d be guns between me and the White House,” and he ran anyway. Some called RFK an opportunist; others, a revolutionary. However you see him, there’s no disputing that having someone like Bobby running today would give hope in a time where lines are continuously being crossed and precedents set that 50 years ago would’ve seemed unthinkable.
“Kennedy: Bobby’s Last Crusade” is a play of hope and encouragement in a time where we need it most. (read more)