Tail! Spin! **

The sexual peccadillos of four of our politicians form the basis of this comic romp at the Lynn Redgrave Theater. Idaho’s Sen. Larry Craig (Josh Eakright, u/s for Sean Dugan), master of the wide stance; Florida’s Rep. Mark Foley (Arnie Burton), enthusiastic pal of underage congressional pages; NY’s own Rep. Anthony Wiener (Nate Smith), sexter par excellence, and South Carolina’s Gov. Mark Sanford (Tom Galantich), who turned up far from the Appalachian Trail, are captured through their own words. Rachel Dratch portrays “wives, tails, beards and Barbara Walters.” Most of the material will be thoroughly familiar to anyone who hasn’t been hiding in a cave, but playwright Mario Correa has sliced and diced it in amusing ways. Caite Hevner Kemp’s attractive set has all the right patriotic trimmings and is well lighted by Ryan O’Gara. In addition to their main characters, each actor has other roles. Projected surtitles remind us who is portraying whom at any given moment. Director Dan Knechtges maintains a lively pace. The enthusiastic cast are very good, but the material seemed to me only marginally funnier — and racier — than a series of above average Saturday Night Live skits. At 70 minutes, it was both too short and too long — too short to justify the effort and expense of attending and too long to remain fresh.