Help from a Presidential Speechwriter
When the musical, Mr. President, by Irving Berlin (1888–1989), faced difficulties during its pre-Broadway run, director Joshua Logan (1908–1988) asked President Kennedy’s speechwriter, Theodore Sorensen (1928–2010), for help with a rewrite. Sorensen often consulted stories by humorists such as Will Rogers (1879–1935) and Finley Peter Dunne (1867–1936) to help Kennedy establish audience rapport. Logan encouraged Sorensen to try playwriting, contending that the theater “is the strongest medium in the arts for expressing opinion.” Sorensen’s scene, though appreciated, was not used.
When the musical, <em>Mr. President,</em> by Irving Berlin (1888–1989), faced difficulties during its pre-Broadway run, director Joshua Logan (1908–1988) asked President Kennedy’s speechwriter, Theodore Sorensen (1928–2010), for help with a rewrite. Sorensen often consulted stories by humorists such as Will Rogers (1879–1935) and Finley Peter Dunne (1867–1936) to help Kennedy establish audience rapport. Logan encouraged Sorensen to try playwriting, contending that the theater “is the strongest medium in the arts for expressing opinion.” Sorensen’s scene, though appreciated, was not used.