Democracy: The Play

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Richard Thomas (left) as Günter Guillaume and James Naughton as Willy Brandt in Democracy

I managed to take in one excellent play while in New York for a short visit: Democracy, by Michael Frayn. The play is set during the Chancellorship of Willy Brandt and focuses on the relationship between Brandt and one of his close aides, Günter Guillaume, who was a spy for the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).

I was impressed not only by the smart dialogue and the remarkable acting skills of the cast, but by the celebration of democratic liberalism and the withering treatment of socialism. If you get the chance to see Democracy, I recommend it highly..