BEFORE Lee Atwater became a political hit man and before "Rovian" was written into the nation's campaign lexicon, the campaign against actress Helen Gahagan Douglas symbolized the viciousness of politics by smear.
Douglas, a liberal Democrat who ran against Congressman Richard Nixon for a California senatorial seat in 1950, was characterized as a communist -- "pink down to her underwear" -- by an opponent who would become known as "Tricky Dick."
In the years since the actress' brutally unsuccessful bid for office, her story has emerged as an emblem of how badly candidates -- especially women -- fair in the modern meat grinder of national politics. Given all that, it was almost inevitable that the controversy over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's treatment in the Democratic primaries (and perhaps, now, the vetting of Gov. Sarah Palin) would awaken in some quarters memories of the bitter Douglas-Nixon battle.
Longtime journalist Michele Willens and screenwriter Wendy Kout have done more than recall. They've written a play about the actress and her experience.
Their production, called "Don't Blame Me I Voted for Helen Gahagan Douglas," will show for one evening only, on Thursday, at the Landmark movie theater in West Los Angeles.
The event begins at 6 p.m. The vice presidential debate between Palin and Sen. Joe Biden will be broadcast live on the theater's large screen. The play will begin after the debate.
Two-time Emmy nominee Wendie Malick plays Douglas. Charles Shaughnessy plays Douglas' husband, the Oscar-winning actor Melvyn Douglas. Patrick Breen plays Nixon. (And Michael Dutra plays JFK, LBJ and everyone else.)
"This play is not a puff piece," said Malick in a lunch interview, along with Kout, in Westwood last week. "Helen is not entirely likable. She was spoiled and selfish and indulged. She was stubborn but passionate. There's a line in it where she talks about the need to organize Hollywood. It was the start of stars actually taking stands on important issues. She said, 'If you don't like it that I'm standing up against McCarthyism, then break my contract. I don't care.' "
The production has become something of an underground hit, with readings around the country. These days, it seems even more prescient.
"When we were reading through it the last time it sort of gave us pause," said Malick. "It's just so eerie how history repeats itself."
