The Best Man's Donna Hanover on Asking Presidential Candidates the Tough Questions, Onstage and Off
About the Author:
Art imitates life for television journalist Donna Hanover, who is making her Broadway debut as seasoned reporter Barbara Brinkley in The Best Man, Gore Vidal’s 1960 political drama. Hanover, who served as the First Lady of New York City from 1994 to 2002 as the former wife of Mayor Rudolph Guiliani, has anchored TV programs on WPIX-TV and WNYW-TV in New York. Currently, Hanover anchors Science & U! on CUNY TV. After appearing off-Broadway in Picked and The Vagina Monologues and on screen in The People vs. Larry Flynt, Hanover returns to the stage alongside James Earl Jones, John Larroquette, Angela Lansbury and more in The Best Man. Below, Hanover reveals her insights into journalists and politicians, and recounts the real-life experiences that inspire her performance in The Best Man.
In Gore Vidal’s The Best Man, reporter Barbara Brinkley is one tough cookie. She wouldn’t have gotten this job in a man’s world in 1960 if she wasn’t. Barbara’s not a cub reporter. She’s somebody who’s been around the block a few times with political figures, her editors and the competition. She can hold her own. I’m not exactly like Barbara, but we certainly have a few things in common.
I’ve done a lot of reporting, and in local news, you interact with state politicians and national political figures who are traveling through to campaign. In my own life as a reporter, I believe that asking hard questions is something positive I do for both the public and the politician. I’m not talking about “gotcha” journalism or ambush questions, but tough ones. For example, while anchoring news in Miami, I asked President Carter whether Fidel Castro’s flattering words about him didn’t actually mean the dictator viewed him as a weak President. My feeling has always been that if politicians get the chance to answer hard questions, it’s an opportunity to show that they know what they’re talking about and highlight passion for their philosophy and policy.
My character, Barbara, feels the same way. The first question out of her mouth on stage is, “What about former President Hockstader? Have you got his endorsement yet?” The former president’s endorsement is a key factor in the political convention. It’s a tough question, but she doesn’t tiptoe around it. And this is exactly what a good journalist would do.
If you speak with most news anchors, you’ll see that they enjoy their interactions with political figures. My first TV reporting job was in Utica, New York, and U.S. Senator Jacob Javits was the first important political figure I interviewed. I covered him at a breakfast, then a luncheon, and finally at the dinner where he was appearing. By the end of the day, he was waving to me, saying, “Hey Donna, how are you doing?” There’s a warmth that often develops, simply based on human nature.
Reporters and political figures actually have a lot in common. In both cases, the stakes are high and you work long hours. These aren’t nine-to-five jobs. There’s also a mutual recognition of intelligence and enjoyment of humor between reporters and politicians. In The Best Man, Barbara enjoys Secretary William Russell’s humor in particular. He’s erudite, he’s witty and she has fun bantering with him. That has certainly happened in my life, and it gives Barbara some depth and authenticity.
While the relationship between politicians and the press is partially adversarial, it’s a joint operation nonetheless. In 1983, when I first started working in New York at WPIX-TV, I was assigned to cover Mayor Ed Koch at a press conference in City Hall. But the assignment desk gave my camera crew their lunch hour before we left the TV station in order to avoid paying overtime, so I was late, and by the time I arrived, Mayor Koch had already finished speaking. I was walking up the steps of City Hall just as he was walking down to leave. I said, “Please, I need a sound bite for my story.” And he was gracious. Wherever he was headed, he put it off for a moment to give me the sound bite. (Of course, he almost always loves one more chance to say what he thinks!) At any rate, we both needed one another to do our jobs, and this created a foundation of mutual respect.
Political campaigns are based around a small core of people. Campaigns can grow to be massive, with teams in every part of the country, but at the core, the decision-making is done by a very small group of people, and you see that in The Best Man. You see the intensity and the pounding adrenaline infusing the characters during the presidential race, and this intensity is conveyed to the audience. The whole theater is decked out as if each audience member is a delegate at the convention, so the show becomes a truly interactive experience.
I’m delighted to be making my Broadway debut in The Best Man. Michael Wilson, whom I previously worked with off-Broadway, is a brilliant, collegial director, and he maximizes the wonderful humor in Vidal’s classic play. Moreover, the cast is fantastic at bringing our audience to gasps, cheers and laughs. Angela Lansbury, James Earl Jones, John Larroquette, Candice Bergen, Eric McCormack, Michael McKean, Kerry Butler, Jefferson Mays… You go down the list and just say, “Oh my, oh my, oh my!” I love playing both a reporter and the mother of one of the candidates. It’s fantastic to be working with the amazingly talented cast and crew of The Best Man.
