About the Play:

Daisy is a full-length drama by Sean Devine. Based on a true story. This explosive play explores the power of manipulation in advertising and the clear moment in television history that launched the age of negative attack ads, and forever changed how we elect our leaders.

Daisy is a political thriller that explores the moment in history where the most infamous political commercial ever made was created by a Madison Avenue advertising team working for President and presidential candidate Lyndon Johnson. Set during the 1964 US presidential election, while turmoil over civil rights is spilling onto the streets, a fearful ideology is growing from the conservative right, and the threat of nuclear war is palpable, one commercial – maybe one man – forever changed how we elect our leaders. Distracted by the packaging of a seemingly peaceful US president, the Doyle Dane Bernbach advertising agency is immersed in a crisis of its own. At the nexus of it all sits the eccentric sound man and legendary communications guru Tony Schwartz. This group unleashed the most powerful political commercial ever conceived, the "Daisy" ad. War was the objective. Peace was the bait. Everyone got duped. The ad played once and was immediately banned, but its impact was – and is – still felt. Daisy explores the art and science of political manipulation, the forces at play on public consciousness, and the impact that fear has had on our democracy.

Daisy was originally commissioned by New York City's famed Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) and had public readings in Chicago, Toronto, and Ottawa. Daisy premiered in 2016 at Seattle's ACT Theatre, where it received a Gregory Award nomination for Best New Play and a Broadway World Seattle Critic's Choice Award for Best New Play. Since then the play had regional premieres at professional theatres across the North America and has been mounted by colleges and community theatres.

Cast: 1 woman, 5 men

What people say:

"Addressing issues such as fearmongering, racial injustice, police killings, sexism in the workplace, and the integrity (or lack thereof) of politics, [Daisy] leads the audience through a provocative discussion on how we as Americans came to our point of being today. …Intense, sharp, and incredibly intelligent, Daisy isn't as sweet as it sounds…." — The Daily (Seattle)

"Daisy is a story that, through history's irritating tendency to repeat itself … resonates so deeply with our current moment that it should be required viewing for all registered voters." — Seattle Weekly

"…engaging and powerful… [A] fascinating piece of historical theatre…." — BroadwayWorld.com

"All the science-y stuff and big ideas about the way the body responds to language and images makes Daisy more than just a particularly well-timed dive into the unfortunately relevant presidential campaigns of Johnson and Goldwater [in the 1960's]." — The Stranger (Seattle)

"Devine's writing is sharp and clever, and Daisy is clear, concise and even-handed." — City Arts (Seattle)

About the Playwright:

Sean Devine is a Canadian playwright, performer and theatre maker based in Ottawa, Ontario, as well as a co-founder and artistic director of Horseshoes & Hand Grenades Theatre (HHG).