On the Scene: Political satire 'The Minutes' looks for laughs inside city council meeting

Tracy Letts stars as the mayor of Big Cherry, a small town with a dysfunctional council. Letts also wrote "The Minutes" as well as crafted the characters.

News 12 Staff

Apr 27, 2022, 12:04 PM

Updated 950 days ago

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"The Minutes" is a new comedy on Broadway that looks for laughs inside a city council meeting.
Tracy Letts stars as the mayor of Big Cherry, a small town with a dysfunctional council. Letts also wrote "The Minutes" as well as crafted the characters.
"It’s no fun to play what your character represents. You have to play a person and they're all very unique and funny, quirky people," Letts said.
Letts penned "The Minutes" some six years ago. The political satire first came to Broadway in 2020, but was shut down while in previews due to the pandemic.
"It feels different after the two years we've all been through and the state of the world now," said actor Jessie Mueller.
A new sense of the play is coming out of the pandemic, as News 12's John Bathke met cast members during rehearsal, with Noah Reid of "Schitt's Creek" as the newcomer. Reid, who replaced Armie Hammer, plays a newcomer to the council who questions some mysteriously missing council minutes.
"I think this show is such a reflection of America and where we're at in this country now and how decisions get made," Reid said.
"The Minutes" is set in the chambers of a city council where petty differences lead to clashes.
"And what you see is the way self-interest really takes over," said actor Blair Brown.
"The Minutes," a production of the Steppenwolf Theatre, takes a dramatic turn when a secret in the town's past comes to light.
"The Minutes" is a limited engagement. It is now running through July 24 at Studio 54.
"The Minutes" also reunites Tracy Letts with director Anna D. Shapiro. The two previously collaborated in the Pultizer Prize and Tony award winning "August Osage County."