Meghan McCain: Off-Broadway Satire ‘The Ghost of John McCain’ Is “Trash” From “Mediocre, Desperate People”

Kevin Dolak
·2 min read
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The talent behind the upcoming musical The Ghost of John McCain should not save a front row seat at its premiere for the late senator’s daughter Meghan McCain, as the former cohost of The View and outspoken pundit took to Twitter this week to denounce the forthcoming off-Broadway show, slam its producers and wish it has no success whatsoever.

On Wednesday, it was announced that the show is slated for a fall premiere at New York’s Soho Playhouse. The self-described “serious and satirical musical” was written by Scott Elmegreen with music and lyrics by Drew Fornarola, and its producers include political strategist Jason Rose and Max Fose, a former McCain campaign consultant.

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“This is trash,” McCain wrote of the musical, adding that it’s, “Nothing more than a gross cash grab by mediocre desperate people…I hope it bombs.”

McCain, who in 2017 brought the perspective of a staunch conservative and pre-Trump Republican to her co-hosting duties at The View until departing in 2021, has crusaded for her late father’s legacy. It is unclear if she has read the play.

John McCain served as senator in Arizona from 1987 until he died in 2018. He ran for president in 2008, losing to former President Barack Obama; in 2016, he became a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump, as the candidate began his sweeping takeover of the party.

The crux of The Ghost of John McCain lies in the sharp contrast between the late senator and Trump, according to a description on its production house’s website, with the latter’s brain being the literal setting of the show’s events. Quixote Productions was founded by political strategist and public relations executive Rose and McCain’s longtime consultant, Fose. An email sent to Quixote Productions by The Hollywood Reporter was not immediately returned.

The show’s themes include “power, rivalry and the human condition,” according to a Wednesday press release for the forthcoming show.

“In Ghost of John McCain, McCain contemplates a wonderful afterlife but instead finds that ‘heaven’ is inside Trump’s brain, where a Greek chorus of iconic figures, including Hillary Clinton, Roy Cohn, Eva Peron, Teddy Roosevelt, Robert Jordan and Lindsey Graham, rebel against the former President’s relentless demands for affirmation,” the release explains.

The show was first announced when a private industry reading of the script was scheduled for January, as Playbill reported at the time.

In addition to her career as a producer and pundit, Meghan McCain is currently a columnist for the Daily Mail’s website. THR reached out to her representatives for further comment on her tweet, but did not immediately hear back.

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