by Jordana Merran
Sunday may be the official last day of this year’s Capital Fringe Festival, but it’s not too late to catch one of its most exciting productions. Now extended through the first week of August, “Who’s Your Baghdaddy: Or How I Started the Iraq War” is a raucous musical comedy that accounts for the “historical fictions” (as described by the “fundit”—rather than pundit—narrators) that led to the Iraq war.
The show tells the stories of three main characters—an ex-CIA field operative, a junior detective based out of Germany, and a washed-up news reporter—whose blind ambitions and frustrations with the bureaucratic chains that hold them back have disastrous consequences. Toeing the line between satire and tragedy (indeed the script is a work in progress, says writer Marshall Pailet), one theme is clear: personal responsibility.
“What the show comes down to is… people who perceive themselves as cogs,” says Pailet. “People who do things… in service of themselves because they think there’s no consequences.”
A heavy message, surely; but interwoven with outrageous characters, impressive vocals, flawless choreography, and yes, a rap song called “Who’s Your Baghdaddy,” this production caters to an audience much wider than the political wonks of DC, and it has my vote!
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