Daisy by Sean Devine
This True Story Resonates in Today's Chilling Environment
By: Victor Cordell - Feb 02, 2025
The power of moving-image media is evidenced by the massive electoral success at the apex of American politics by movie and TV celebrities inexperienced in government, such as Ronald Regan, Donald Trump, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. At the next level down, add the likes of former U.S. Senator George Murphy (‘40s actor/dancer), U.S. Congressman Fred Grundy (from The Love Boat), and mayors Clint Eastwood and Sonny Bono.
Demonstrable, but harder to directly measure, is the effect of advertising on product sales. At the outset of the play Daisy, advertising firm Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB) is crafting an advertising campaign for American Airlines based solely on the notion of the attractiveness of stewardesses to the then dominant niche of travelers, businessmen.
Not mentioned in the play, but at the same time, Braniff Airlines launched a TV campaign promoting their appealing stewardesses being festooned in Emilio Pucci uniforms. The ads were so successful and business increased so rapidly (which, lest we forget, was people movement, not fashion) that Braniff nearly went bankrupt, as they were unprepared to manage the growth and suffered huge overbooking and operational errors.
In the 1964 presidential campaign, DDB was enlisted by the White House to deliver advertising for Democratic President Lyndon Johnson. The consequential result was a 60-second spot that ran on national television exactly once. Identified as Daisy it shows a closeup of a young girl counting to ten as she picks pedals from a flower, followed by a male voice counting down from ten, and culminating with the picture and sound of a nuclear explosion. It does not name the Republican opponent, but during the Cold War era with the fear of nuclear holocaust, the candidate’s reckless comments allowed the viewer to connect the dots. For all its indirection, this piece represents the birth of the attack ad.
While depicting modern history, playwright Sean Devine has created a provocative and revealing rendering of the events. Most playgoers will know little of the facts other than the main outcomes, so the narrative will be perceived as a suspenseful drama. Even for those of us old enough to have been there, factual details are refreshed or totally new, especially the insider information.
Critically, who among us could identify Tony Schwartz? So who was he? He was an esteemed freelance sound theorist and designer who scripted the body of the Daisy ad and who insisted on not mentioning Barry Goldwater’s name, as the audience already knew who he was and already feared him. He also rejected using LBJ’s voice (unsuccessfully) or image, as they were not attractive. But despite his creativity, DDB did not give public recognition to Schwartz. The story is told largely from the perspective of three ad people at DDB who are designated to run the ad campaign, highlighting their interactions with Schwartz, their CEO Bill Bernbach, and White House lawyer and liaison with the team, Clifford Lewis. Though the somewhat flippant style and New Yorkiness of the team may have been accurate, it doesn’t work so well for me, as I feel that straight up dramatic style maintains tension better. The exception is the character of Tony Schwartz, played with great skill and credibility by Michael Champlin. Schwartz suffered from agoraphobia and was full of eccentricities that make the off-kilter portrayal highly appropriate and effective.
What makes Daisy especially stimulating is that situations from its era compare and contrast chillingly with today’s political environment. Notably, Barry Goldwater only became the Republican candidate because Nelson Rockefeller dropped out of the primary as he was poised to win California and the nomination. Why? His new wife gave birth to a child eight months after their marriage, and that scandal was enough to scuttle his candidacy. Our recently elected president is on his third marriage; a convicted felon; a chronic and documented liar of the highest order; adjudged and multiply accused sexual abuser; founder and leader of several companies that went bankrupt; and the list goes on. Within 60 years, the moral character of voters in this country and their standards for national leadership has so seriously declined that there appears to be no bottom, though anything lower is hard to imagine.
Also, Goldwater and Trump are cut from the same cloth, considered extremists within their own party and with little urge control. The difference is that Trump has used his uncommon and ununderstandable appeal to Republican voters to bludgeon friend and foe alike into submission with immense intimidation and threat. Goldwater never had a chance to show if he would embrace fascism in practice.
The history also relates to disingenuous strategies employed in political crusades. For instance, though LBJ’s Great Society and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 were the hallmarks of his tenure as the replacement president for the assassinated John F. Kennedy, there was to be no mention of civil rights in the campaign for fear of losing Southern support.
At another level, the play is about everyday morality. One of the team members pleas ethics in condemning the use of negative ads, yet takes credit for the creation of the Daisy ad that clearly belonged to Schwartz. Another notes that doing the job keeps the paychecks coming, dismissing ethical considerations. It is interesting how common it is in real life that people carve out ethical, religious, or political exceptions to advance their own cause. As Bernbach notes to one of the team, “Your name is on that card because your ambition exceeds your ideals,” which could be said of many sycophants in the Trump orbit. An example of the situational disconnect: many farmers are against government programs that tax in order to spread the wealth, except when it comes to farm subsidies, which they consider vital and untouchable. Where you sit is where you stand.
Hillbarn Theatre’s regional premiere offers fine production values with direction by Jeffrey Bracco. It plays with three separate locations on a period-looking set, supported by the thoughtful projection images, all designed by Steve Muterspaugh. As is only appropriate, Jeff Mockus’s sound design captures the vital aspects associated with Tony Schwartz’s work with consummate skill. It is surprising that this play took nine years to arrive in the Bay Area. Given the current presidential administration, Daisy is likely to sprout legs.
Daisy, written by Sean Devine, is produced by Hillbarn Theatre and plays on its stage at 1285 East Hillsdale Blvd, Foster City, CA through February 9, 2025.