THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
Book and lyrics by Harry Shearer and Tom Leopold; music by Peter Matz
Kings Head Theatre, Upper Street, Islington, London N1 until August 16, 2026
This is the world premiere of, let’s face it, a Broadway show, bursting its girdle to rise above its humble fringe origins here at the famous King’s Head. The creative team here is very impressive indeed, it being co-written by legendary satirist and performer, Harry Shearer (The Simpsons, Spinal Tap) and acclaimed comedy writer Tom Leopold (Cheers, Seinfeld) with music by the legendary conductor, arranger & composer Peter Matz (famous for his work with Streisand and Dietrich and Bacharach) who passed away in 2002. Yes, the genesis has been long, as it was originally conceived as a radio piece in 1994.
It tells the stranger than fiction story of J. Edgar Hoover in the style of a 1950s musical comedy with a score that is blissfully old fashioned. There are in-jokes to how realising that his life would inspire a musical would probably kill him. The score has many echoes of Jerry Herman, as the songs are mostly big blousy numbers adding to an overall vibe of camp celebration and warm-hearted pastiche. There’s no angst present here and it closely resembles The Producers too in that the jokes are very broad, and it lampoons a leading malevolent historical figure.
Josh Seymour directs it with immense verve and vigour, and the great Bill Deamer choreographs it as if he were doing it at the Palladium or for a splashy Saturday night TV special. With a great ensemble cast of 16 (big for this venue) he pulls off full tap numbers which ooze Broadway razzle-dazzle, all on this apron sized stage. The ambition and chutzpah of it are a delight to behold
As Director of the FBI from 1924 to 1972, Hoover of course, secured his position as one of the most powerful men in America by gathering information on the private lives of politicians and public figures including every President he served. His zeal for exposing and ruining suspected Communists remained undimmed and his modus operandi was to ‘get the dirt’, mostly sexual, on everyone and so have them at his mercy. The infamous Roy Cohn learned this at his feet and if you’ve seen the movie The Apprentice you’ll know who learned at Roy Cohn’s feet. Blackmail and subversion became normalised in American public life, mostly because of Hoover.
Yet behind all that power, Hoover was himself gay and self-hating and prone to flamboyant partying, usually in drag. He even had a lifelong gay love affair with a young assistant, Clyde Tolson, whom he amazingly titled his ‘Deputy for Life’. How he kept all that under wraps considering the extensive list of enemies he accumulated over his long career is testament to his fearsome power.
Bryan Batt (so memorable in Mad Men) has come over to play Hoover and is a joy. He hilariously flits between camp self-obsession and cartoon menace, but he never gets any darker, for it’s not that kind of show. The piece must tread a fine line between presenting Hoover as the main protagonist in a comedy while not reducing him to some kind of loveable rogue (for that he wasn’t), and it pulls that off thanks largely to Batt’s finesse.
Hugo Bolton is a comic delight too as the confident but prissy Clyde, and Laura Medforth goes from dowdy secretary to all out vamp in a great second act showstopper after Edgar has, just momentarily, raised her hopes of marriage. Meanwhile Judith Owen steals her scene as the ‘Lady in Red’, the infamous Romanian madam who betrayed Public Enemy Number One John Dillinger to the FBI.
Marc Elliott shines too as the legendary gossip columnist Walter Winchell, the godfather of ‘influencers’ whose syndicated gossip columns and radio shows attracted tens of millions and gave him immense power and who Hoover cultivated to help burnish his own image. You may need to brush up on your mid 20th century pop culture history as the show is replete with references to such leading figures of the era, though you’ll enjoy the show without Mastermind level knowledge.
Overall it’s a high energy evening of vaudeville-like fun, lampooning an admittedly horrific character who got away with his abuse for far too long. It underlines however that such hypocrisy must always be called out and never left stand.
Read our interview with Harry Shearer and Tom Leopold here.
