The Honorable Herbert Peabody
This week I saw not one but two shows about adult men coming to terms with the reality of the fact that the men who taught them to be the men they are, the ones that inspired them and who they looked up to and model themselves after, turned out to be sexual predators with a penchant for history and abuse that is protected by the system. A bit of a peculiarity for such a particularly harsh and bitter reality of the world we live in to be presented to me with raw, chaotic pain and a sense of humor that makes the poison consumable more than once in a week, but I am not complaining. The Honorable Herbert Peabody serves as a refreshing reminder of a new level of awareness that a certain generation of men seems to be developing. The playwright in me is happy to see these topics be talked about with such theatrical wit and charm from refreshingly self-aware men.
The Honorable Herbert Peabody is a returning critic’s choice from the Spring 2026 United Solo Theatre Festival. I never got the opportunity to see it back then, only to hear the uproarious laughter of the audience from the halls outside the theater. I count myself incredibly fortunate that I got the opportunity to see this show with its return in fall 2026 and review it myself. It is a sort of political dramedy, one that takes the theatrics of civics and governance, also known as politics and blending it with the theatrical world of, well, the theater.
Kirk McGee’s stage presence is a touch neurotic and embarrassed at first. It is clear his character knows what is about to come and is trying to spare us. In many ways he does, this characterization and narrative choice disarms the audience as much as tour guide aims to disarm the tourists, invites us to take the trip with us, and puts us on equal footing with our narrator. This eases us into the very heavy subject matter the show is ultimately about.
These topics are hard to stomach, and the humor in the first half of the show eases us into it with comedic little moments that foreshadow the sinister underpinnings of one Senator Herbert Peabody. These moments in dialogue make the revelation possible, adding an emotional weight but sparing us from the play being grotesque. There is one moment where our tour guide shouts, “I want to urinate on you while you masturbate,” is frustration that he can no longer deny the thing he’s been trying to deny: his idol was a predator. Given the tempo of the show the words sound funny, but the moment quickly sinks in as he throws his cue cards in the area. This show had strong solid direction and set design, which Mr. McGee used to great effect. He is a charming performer to watch, one who knows how to use space and props to sell the story he’s telling, without relying on flashy theatrics to prove his points.
The Honorable Herbert Peabody is a shining example of solo theater as it highlights all of his strong suits as a performer while making a profound point about a challenging subject. Not all men have these conversations. Some do, but not all. I do not know how autobiographical this was, but to admit “I handled it wrong” is a level of accountability that takes strength and only serves to better us. I highly recommend this show for a thoughtful examination on its subject material and is incredibly funny and charming on top of it. This show deserves a large audience because Kirk McGee truly knows how to work one.
The Honorable Herbert Peabody
Starring: Kirk McGee
Performed on October 24th 2026
October 19 – November 22, 2026
Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street, in Manhattan
Reviewer: Alexander J. Preziosi
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