By Ernest Kearney — A promising premise: What if— in this day and age of presidential candidates who fall between rancid Republicans and disappointing Democrats — we could resurrect the ideal nominee from our past; the great
emancipator, the Sage from Springfield: Abe Lincoln?
Sadly, the promising premise of Lincoln 2020, (at the Broadwater in Hollywood during HFF’19), joins the ranks of new wallpaper for the Titanic’s staterooms, and General Custer’s victory parade on his triumphant return from the Little Big Horn.
The cloned Lincoln (Tim Kopacz) at first seems like a dream come true, for down on her luck Campaign Manager Tess (Allie Leonard) but…but….
Never mind.
I won’t attempt a synopsis here, as Playwright/Producer Holiday Kinard hasn’t written a play, but a thinly veiled script resulting in numerous excruciatingly long blackouts that director Colleen Labella for some reason decided to inflict on everyone in the audience.
Kinard depicts Lincoln as somewhat dim, rather bigoted, exceedingly sexist and gay; none of which he was in real life.
Not that you can’t play fast and loose with facts in a comedy.
Blackadder, the BBC comedy series starring Rowan Atkinson, presented Richard III as winning at Bosworth Field, Elizabeth I as a cloth-eared bimbo, Shakespeare as a halfwit, Pitt the Younger as a snotty punk and World War I as sorta fun.
But Blackadder got away with all that because it was funny. Lincoln 2020 is not.
Even actors like Kopacz, who was so memorable in last year’s Resa Fantastiskt Mystisk, seem to have undergone a talent lobotomy here. 
Poorly written, poorly directed and so from The Tvolution —
A weak – a very weak – BRONZE MEDAL.
(NOTE: Photo by Seri DeYoung)
For complete show information go to: http://hff19.org/5843
For the total lowdown on events, plays and fun happenings during Hollywood Fringe Festival 2019 (running 06/13/19 to 06/30/19) go to: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/
