DeVos’ confirmation hearing inspires drama

Betsy DeVos endured yet another rocky hearing to become education secretary — this time on a theater stage.

WASHINGTON » Guns in schools to protect students from grizzly bears? Betsy DeVos endured yet another rocky Senate confirmation hearing to become education secretary — this time on a theater stage.

During the performance at Arena Stage, about a dozen student actors from local high schools played frustrated Democrats and friendly Republicans grilling DeVos about the public education, the role of the federal government in civil rights, and her family wealth.

“We are living in a time when people think they are looking for truth, but are being told there are alternative facts and, frankly, we are just trying to show facts,” Chris Burney, a co-producer of the show, said in an interview before the performance. “This is what was spoken, these are the words that were spoken, now that you know what the facts are, how do you engage with them?”

The play, titled simply “The Confirmation Hearing for the Secretary of Education,” was part of “American Scorecard,” a series of dramatic readings of congressional transcripts by actors. Other shows in the series have been devoted to banking, the investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. election and the confirmation of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, who later resigned.

DeVos’ less-than-smooth performance at her confirmation hearing generated satire on television and social media and marked the start of her rocky tenure. After the hearing, two Republican senators joined the Democrats in voting against DeVos, and Vice President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote that secured her the job.

Putting prominent public figures on the stage as part of documentary theater is not new, said Jodi Kanter, a theater professor at George Washington University. For instance, Anita Hill’s powerful testimony at