The Fountain Theatre production of Fatherland, a new verbatim play conceived and directed by Stephen Sachs and now playing a limited Off-Broadway engagement at New York City Center following its sold-out run in LA, recounts the true story of the 18-year-old son who turned in his father to the FBI for his active participation in the January 6th storming of the US Capitol, through official transcripts of court testimony, public statements, and case evidence presented in The United States vs. Guy Wesley Feffitt, the jury trial held before the US District Court in Washington, DC, from February 28-March 8, 2022.
The increasingly intense four-hander pits prosecutor against defense attorney, “moderately conservative” gun-toting father against “moderately liberal” digital-age son, who, under questioning and in evidentiary submissions, recall happy experiences from the past and continue to profess their love for each other despite their opposing political views. But when Trump challenges the results of the 2020 presidential election and sends out a call to rally at the Capitol Building, urging his supporters to “fight like hell” or “you’re not going to have a country anymore,” things change. The relationship between the proudly reactionary father – who brags about his intentions on social media, arms himself for battle, and makes the trip from Texas to DC by car (since he wouldn’t be able to take his weapons on a plane) – and his deeply concerned son – who surreptitiously contacts the FBI and makes many secret recordings of his father on his cell phone (so they will believe that he’s telling the truth) – explodes and their family is torn apart after the elder is arrested, prosecuted, and convicted of multiple charges, with his then 19-year-old son serving as the government’s key witness.
It’s a divisive episode from our recent history and a personal struggle between filial loyalty and moral conscience, brought to life by a compelling cast, reprising their roles from the LA production, and gripping staging that moves back and forth between the courtroom testimony and word-for-word re-enactments of the memories, events, and conversations they shared, and the range of intensifying emotions they embrace in their powerful portrayals. Under the fast-paced and riveting direction of Sachs, they actively move around the stage and aisles, within inches of the audience, at times addressing us directly, as if we were the jury.
Ron Bottitta is a firebrand as Father, drinking heavily, dropping incessant f-bombs, physically assaulting and violently threatening his wife and son, passionately embracing the MAGA movement and espousing the incendiary extremist ideology of the far-right Three Percenters militia group (explained in part by the backstory of his financial decline), leading the charge on the Capitol, and documenting his actions and manifest fury on his cell phone, all in the name of saving the country for his son and future generations.
Patrick Keleher as Son is at first nervous in his court testimony, as evident in his barely audible voice and anxiety-ridden body language, then radiant and laughing in the flashbacks from his younger days with his father. But he grows more and more troubled with the rising radicalism his parent advocates and worried about his safety, and that of everyone else in DC, after hearing his plans to take part in the incursion and watching him prepare for combat, so makes the difficult decision to send an online tip to the FBI (by Googling how to reach them, eliciting a laugh from the audience). Throughout the questioning, he expresses his guilt about having done it, though convinced it was the right thing to do, in an affectingly expressive and fully three-dimensional performance.
They are supported by the excellent Anna Khaja as US Attorney, professionally adept and even-tempered, focused on the facts, and sometimes gently maternal, as she probes the emotionally conflicted teenage witness, who at points becomes frantic and unable to catch his breath. And Larry Poindexter as Defense Attorney is aggressive in his cross-examination, making faces and rolling his eyes, and evoking objections from the opposing lawyer for argumentative questions, badgering, and leading the witness, accusing the son of using the case, which made nationwide headlines and created a media frenzy and demand for interviews, for his own monetary gain and celebrity.
An efficient set by Joel David allows for the fluid movement of the cast and their rearrangement of the two wooden tables and chairs from scene to scene, court to memories. Lighting by Alison Brummer shifts from realistic to heightened and frenetic, and sound by Stewart Blackwood, with voiceovers of Trump’s speeches and actual news reports, the noise of the rioting crowd, and a disturbingly fraught abstract soundscape, accentuates the moods. Character-defining costumes by Danyele Thomas visually identify their distinctive generations, professions, and political leanings, with the riot gear of the father – very different from his traditional suit and cleaned-up appearance at sentencing – particularly indicative of what’s to come and clearly justifying the actions of the son.
Fatherland is one of the many current NYC productions focused on the political and social divide in this momentous election year and it’s one of the most impactful, with a potent cast, direction, design, and verbatim script that definitively make its case.
Running Time: Approximately 75 minutes, without intermission.
Fatherland plays through Sunday, November 10, 2024, at New York City Center, Stage II, 131 West 55th Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $55-85, including fees), call (212) 581-1212, or go online.
