''You're Welcome America. A Final Night with George W Bush'' is a comedic

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

play written by and starring American comedian

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 20 ...

as George W. Bush, which ran from February 5 to March 15, 2009. The play is directed by Ferrell's long-time comedy partner, Adam McKay, who previously worked with him on his comedy films ''

Anchorman A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet ...

'' and '' Talladega Nights''. According to a review at ''The Improper.com'', "Combined with lewd humor and an uncanny cast of characters to help him drive home his alter ego's

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio. No consensus exists on the boundary betwe ...

mannerisms, Ferrell’s showpiece is a true delight." The play is based on Ferrell's George Bush impression, which originated from the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

sketch comedy show ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...

'' (''SNL''). The first appearance of Ferrell's character appeared in the show's 26th season, which took place during the controversial

2000 United States presidential election The 2000 United States presidential election was the 54th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 7, 2000. Republican candidate George W. Bush, the governor of Texas and eldest son of the 41st president, George H. W. Bu ...

. The play carries over some qualities of Ferrell's character that replicates the same comedic element as seen on the popular late night show. The play broke the house record at the Cort Theater, taking in $846,507.05 for the week that ended on February 15, 2009. The show was broadcast live on the HBO cable channel, as well as in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

, on March 14, 2009, at 9:00PM EST.

Richard Ouzounian Richard Ouzounian (born March 8, 1950) is a Canadian journalist and theatre artist. He was the chief theatre critic for the ''Toronto Star'' and the Canadian theatre correspondent for '' Variety''. Early life, family and education Ouzounian was ...

. "Will Ferrell's masterful and frightening portrayal of Bush." March 03, 2009, ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' 2 It was released to

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on November 3, 2009.

Plot

The play starts off with President Bush (Ferrell) telling the audience that this is his final farewell to the country. He then makes jokes about his life, such as his college years at Yale, his nickname “Gin and Tonic,” being born in Connecticut, his business that went bankrupt, and the Texas legislation which he as Governor signed into law that designated a day as "Jesus Day." Some of Bush's stories are humorous but false, such as having a sexual relationship with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and being AWOL from the Air National Guard. Bush's Secret Service agent Jerry dances onstage (sometimes with Bush's pilot) while Ferrell is offstage changing costume. Bush confronts a heckler in the third row, who is actually part of the cast. The play also acknowledges the hard decisions Bush faced during his term, such as deciding to send troops to the Middle East.

Significance

The play, which took place a few months after Bush left office, was meant as a final farewell not only to the former president himself, but also to Ferrell's impression of the former president.

Cast

as George W. Bush * Patrick Ferrell as Jerry the

Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...

agent * Pia Glenn as

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th ...

* Adam Mucci as Pilot * Michael Delaney as Audience Heckler

Staff

* Louis Colaianni Vocal coach

DVD notes

Husband and wife performers

Kevin Kline Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24, 1947) is an American actor. He is the recipient of an Academy Award and three Tony Awards. In addition, he has received nominations for two British Academy Film Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and five ...

and

Phoebe Cates Phoebe Belle Cates Kline (born July 16, 1963) is an American former actress, known primarily for her roles in films such as '' Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982), '' Gremlins'' (1984) and '' Drop Dead Fred'' (1991). Early life Cates was b ...

are visible in the audience. Also visible in the audience are

Edward Norton Edward Harrison Norton (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award and three Academy Award nominations. Born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised ...

Adam Levine Adam Noah Levine (; born March 18, 1979) is an American singer and songwriter. He serves as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the pop rock band Maroon 5. Levine began his musical career in 1994 with the band Kara's Flowers, of which ...

Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally ...

, and

Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) fo ...

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{George W. Bush Films about George W. Bush 2009 plays Broadway plays Cultural depictions of George W. Bush HBO network specials 2000s American television specials 2009 television specials American plays Plays based on real people Plays set in the United States Works by Will Ferrell