Portland Stage’s season opener, “Conscience,” is about U.S. Sen. Margaret Chase Smith’s decision to denounce on the Senate floor the tactics of Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wisconsin, who falsely claimed there were hundreds of Communists working for the federal government.
“Conscience” is a play with just four characters: Smith (Kate Udall); her closest advisor, William Lewis Jr. (John Maddaloni); McCarthy (Liam Craig); and his secretary and later wife, Jean Kerr (Isabelle Van Vleet). The play illuminates the contentious relationship between the two senators. It also shows the fear McCarthy instilled in his colleagues as he threatened to expose their secrets if they did not go along with him.
“Conscience” is being produced for the first time in Maine and the second time in the nation after a March 2020 premiere production in Brunswick, New Jersey. It is a fascinating look back 70 years to the days of the “Red Scare” when Smith was the first and only Republican to criticize McCarthy publicly. The production is visually sparse but full of rhetoric that sounds all too familiar in today’s charged political climate.
Playwright Joe DiPietro, without ever naming former President Donald Trump, points out similarities between the false statements made by McCarthy and the current Republican nominee for president. McCarthy gave a speech in 1950 claiming that 205 Communists were working for the State Department. In the play, he admits to Smith that the number is much less but insists the point is that there are “Reds” who are government employees. McCarthy also lied about his war record, Smith points out.
“Conscience” also shows how afraid McCarthy’s fellow Republican senators were to criticize or confront him for fear of retaliation. Smith garnered little support from her colleagues and McCarthy threatened to discredit her by exposing the fact that her husband, whom she followed into the House of Representatives, died of syphilis.
A Skowhegan native, Smith was the first woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. She was first elected to Congress in 1940 to succeed her deceased husband, Clyde Smith. She was elected to the Senate in 1948 and was the first woman to run for president in 1964.
Smith was defeated by Democrat Bill Hathaway in 1972 but remained an icon in Maine politics until her death in 1995 at age 97.
Act 1 of “Conscience” is about Smith’s decision to make her “Declaration of Conscience” speech in 1950 on the floor of the Senate denouncing fellow McCarthy without naming him. The second act is about the political fallout from that speech and McCarthy’s fall from grace that resulted in his 1954 censure by his colleagues in the Senate.
Director Lisa DiFranza paces the play perfectly and uses the almost bare stage well. Black and white photographs of the U.S. Senate, Smith’s office, the underground train that carries lawmakers from their offices to the Capitol and many more are projected on a screen above the stage. They help ground the story in the early 1950s.
The four actors remain on stage throughout the action with desks, chairs, benches and props moved on and off the stage ably by stagehands dressed in 1950s garb. DiFranza emphasizes the language, which includes some comic moments and barbs, over movement. The play, while talky, never drags.
Udall is glorious as Smith. Her senator is a flinty woman with a thick skin, a straight spine and conviction galore. Udall beautifully portrays Smith’s vulnerabilities and compassion for others who also have secrets they need to keep during less tolerant times. It is a stunning performance although she bears little physical resemblance to Smith.
As McCarthy, Craig captures all the bluster and bigotry of the senator and throws in hints of Trump, especially when the character insists that his lies are truths. The actor is at his best when McCarthy leans in to intimate Smith and Lewis. Craig’s senator is delightfully menacing in hindsight.
Maddaloni and Van Vleet are equally fine as Smith and McCarthy’s loyal aides, respectively. Their blind loyalty to their bosses is the one thing these characters have in common, although they differ greatly in how much influence they each have over their mentors.
The behind-the-scenes team of German Cardenas Alaminos (scenic design), Julie McMurry (costume design), Marie Yokoyama (lighting design) and Seth Asa Sengel (sound design) bring the era to life on a stage that almost resembles a chess board. That emphasizes the brinkmanship of American politics then and now.
Many theatergoers in Sunday’s matinee audience were old enough to remember when Smith was in the Senate. At a talkback following the show with Portland Stage Artistic Director Anita Stewart, John Taylor, who works at the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan, learned why Smith had a notation about meeting Joe McCarthy in her datebook long after that senator was dead.
A gentleman who grew up in Starks, near Skowhegan, told a story about how Smith was invited to tour the Madison mill when it was owned by a Finnish firm and dignitaries from Finland and mill owners were visiting. The head of security at the mill was named Joe McCarthy and he was tasked with making sure Smith got to the event safely.
After hearing that story, Taylor said staff at the library had wondered about her “Joe McCarthy” notation for years but had not known the context. It will be interesting to see how many more Smith “mysteries” are solved during the run of the show.
“Conscience” is a perfect reminder of how one person can speak truth to power and have a lasting impact on the political landscape. This play about the lady senator from Skowhegan will remind theatergoers of one more reason they are proud to call Maine home.
Portland Stage’s production of “Conscience” runs through Oct. 13 at 25A Forest Ave., Portland. For information, call 774-0465 or visit portlandstage.org.
