‘Stuff Happens’ at Mark Taper Forum

Exercising his last opportunity to pick a play for the Mark Taper Forum after 38 years as its artistic director, Gordon Davidson will direct “Stuff Happens,” David Hare’s British hit about the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. The U.S. premiere will employ 22 actors in 96 roles.

The play combines verbatim quotes – such as the title phrase from Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld – with imagined dialogue. But Davidson said “Stuff Happens” isn’t a docudrama. “It’s closer to Shakespeare than it is to ‘In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer,’ ” an early Taper play that signaled Davidson’s interest in politically charged topics. “There’s history but also real internal drama among Bush, the Cabinet and Tony Blair.”

Davidson said he wouldn’t search for look-alike actors for such characters – “This is not Madame Tussaud’s. It’s not about biography. It’s about people in action.”

“It’s not a get-the-administration play,” he said. “The facts will speak for themselves.” He considered adding an updated epilogue, but after talking to Hare he concluded that “it’s not out of date. It’s very present-tense.”

The play will run June 5 to July 17.