I Get No Respect: Tales of a Failed Foreign Policy Pundit
Updated: Dec 11, 2025
Bill Hartung’s “I Get No Respect” arrives as one of the most unexpectedly eye-opening political comedy shows to land in New York this season. Hartung strips the foreign policy world of its jargon and pretension and replaces it with something far more dangerous: the truth, told plainly and with a sense of humor sharp enough to cut through years of professional frustration.
The show works because Hartung refuses to mythologize himself. Instead, he leans into the idea of being a failed pundit and uses it as fuel. His story about appearing on Russell Brand’s podcast is hilarious and oddly touching, especially the moment he describes crying on air. His discovery of a conservative beer branded in honor of Barry Goldwater is one of the strangest and funniest details in the show, and he knows exactly how to deploy it.
What emerges is a self-deprecating but fiercely honest account of a career spent trying, and often failing, to promote world peace from inside the think tank machine. Hartung’s confession that people do not understand him is both a punchline and a genuine lament. By the time he steps through the curtains, both literal and metaphorical, the audience has a clearer view of the political world he has inhabited for decades.
Director Sue Wolf keeps the pacing tight and the energy grounded. The show moves quickly through contemporary political observations, personal misfires, and sharp critiques of the policy establishment. It never feels like a lecture. It feels like a man finally speaking openly, with wit and clarity, about a profession that rarely rewards either.
The result is smart, funny, and surprisingly educational. A well-matched blend of politics and theatre.
A perfect combo.
Performed on November 20
October 14 through November 23, 2025
Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street, NYC)
Matthew is an award-winning playwright and actor! While he loves being on the stage and writing theatrical-thought-provoking-innovational plays, his passions follow him backstage as well! As a student studying business and consulting for entertainment at the School of Professional Studies, CUNY, BBA. Matthew is honored to work on this special showcase full of talent and hardworking individuals. He's selected previous theatrical experience includes Those Who Remained at La Mama E.T.C. (Producer, Props), BMCC CUNY (stage management and performance degree), The Lake (Playwright), and Earth (playwright). He is extremely grateful for the mentors and individuals, and organizations that have given him his resources and support to keep theatre alive. @matthew.d.foster
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I caught this one on November 20 at Theatre Row and it was easily one of the highlights of the festival for me. I went with my cousin from Brisbane who was visiting New York and knew nothing about American think tanks, and he still laughed the whole way through. The Barry Goldwater beer bit got the biggest reaction in our row. Walking out, he joked that after hearing how the policy world works, he’d trust the odds on australian online pokies more than half the forecasts coming out of Washington, which honestly felt like exactly the point Hartung was making. What stayed with me, though, was the Russell Brand podcast story. Under all the jokes there was real frustration…