Confidence (and The Speech) is going to New York! Click here to get your tickets now!
November 14- December 7 @ Theatre Row Confidence (and The Speech) is excited to be making our Off-Broadway debut! Join us at the Lion at Theatre Row (410 W. 42nd Street). It takes a village to put on theatre. You can help us get there! Donate here. If you want to be more involved, please reach out here.
Meet the Team:
Cast members left to right: Stephen Stout, Zach Fifer, Imran Shiekh, Sarah Dacey Charles, April Armstrong, Ariel Ludrof, Ross Alden, Marc Coffin, and James Penca.
Producer Anne Lambert
Director Hannah Ryan
Playwright Susan Lambert Hatem
Assistant Director- Diane Phelan
Scenic Designer – Brittany Vasta
Costume Designer- Vanessa Leuck
Lighting Designer- Christine Watanabe
Sound Designer- Emma Wilk
Projection Designer- S. Katy Tucker
Props Designer- Deb Gaouette
Movement Director- Karla Puno Garcia
Synopsis
Confidence (and The Speech) is not the play you think it is, but it is the play we need right now.
On July 4, 1979 President Carter cancelled an important energy policy speech he was scheduled to give the next day and disappeared to Camp David. Ten days later, he emerged from his impromptu domestic summit and gave a new speech, the Crisis of Confidence speech, which became known as the “malaise” speech. The speech garnered overwhelmingly positive responses at first and many now view the speech as unprecedented, farsighted and insightful. Others think it may have ultimately cost him the White House.
Forty years later, college professor Cynthia Cooper is approached by a stranger, a young man, and asked to recall her time with the Carter Administration during the days before the now infamous Crisis of Confidence speech. If she is going to tell her story of that time – the story told from her perspective – she is going to play the President. And the young man who wants to know her story? Well, he is going to play her. This unique cross-gender play explores the confidence of a president, a nation in chaos and women in politics.
Development
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Charlotte’s Off-Broadway Workshop Production 2018
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Charlotte’s Off-Broadway 2nd Reading 2018
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Charlotte ‘Page to Stage’ Reading 2018
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Reviews
“Boisterous, feverish, audacious, and utterly playful” (Splashmag)
“Re-affirms our essential necessity to move forward” (Theater Pizzaz)
“Possesses the ability to prompt a renewed interest in American history” (Clyde Fitch Report)
“100 minute gem” (The Unforgettable Line)
News
Behind The Scenes
About the Speech:
On July 15 1979, President Jimmy Carter addressed a nation in crisis. Mystery surrounded his plans after he spent many days in Camp David with his advisors. His mission: to address the energy crisis, unemployment, inflation and perhaps the heart of the nation’s problems: confidence. What followed was an outpouring of positive feedback and a dose of introspection from a nation that had been down on its knees.
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Want to know about the relationship between the speech and the play? Read what playwright Susan Lambert Hatem wrote about the speech.
DONATE
If you’d like to make a tax-deductible donation for Confidence (and The Speech), you can do so at our Fractured Atlas page. Every little bit helps us pay for incredible actors, designers, costumes and set. If you don’t care about a tax deduction, you can make a donation of any size at GoFundMe. We truly appreciate your help bringing this timely and important play to New York City.
Thanks to all of our Confidence builders, Charlotte’s Off-Broadway partners, and Fractured Atlas donors!
Contact Us
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For press inquiries, contact richard@richardhillmanpr.com
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