Loretta and Linda Sanchez at the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s
“Will on the Hill,” at Sidney Harman Hall. – Courtesy Kevin Allen
The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s annual “Will on the Hill” event at Harman Hall Monday night had all the ingredients for an original Washington evening: A brand-new script, penned by playwright Peter Byrne; directed by Ethan McSweeny and a big crowd of VIPs and major donors to the company.
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Only one thing was missing: the players. After everyone settled in, Artistic Director Michael Kahn took to the stage to explain that half the cast — mostly members of Congress and other VIPs — were running late thanks to “democracy in action.”
So it was up to Kahn to stall. “I’ll take any questions …” he joked.
Finally, Sidney Harman, the building’s namesake, introduced the play, titled “A Comedy of Capitol Errors.”
“We’ve brought together the country’s experts on line items, building bridges and naming post offices,” he said. “Pay attention as this crowd turns farce into fiasco.”
The play starred real-life sisters Linda and Loretta Sanchez (California Democrats both) as identical twins who were separated at birth and grew up as members of opposite parties. Hilarity ensues when both are elected to Congress — a fact everyone had overlooked “because it was a midterm election.”
