Review #2 of 2: Man of the People by Different Stages
by Hannah Neuhauser

What information are you willing to stomach to believe in a future?  

 

 

Different Stages’ production of Dolores Diaz’s Man of the People dramatizes true events. In national radio broadcasts from 1917 to 1937 charlatan "Dr." J.R. Brinkley  advertised his fraudulent treatments and medications to hopeful listeners desperate for a cure. This gripping story is rife with comedic bewilderment and tragic comprehension. Through its emotionally charged performances and interspersing of historical archives, Man of the People asks, What is quality care – a cure or the truth? And can you put a price on hope?

 

Diaz’s writing is utterly compelling, and Dr. J.R. Brinkley’s contribution to society, so to speak, borders on the brink of insanity, imbuing the play with a bite of the fantastical. Who on earth would think of transplanting goat glands to cure sterility? And, moreover, have the gall to sell the practice nationwide with a fake medical degree? And when caught, run for governor to distract the public from scandal – and win?! In our time of consistent misinformation, Diaz’s work is a timely reflection on how we assess proper medical care.

 

It's rare that I recommend seeing a play based on the script alone. Man of the People plays on a simplistic set, allowing a strategic staging for dynamic performances.

 

Tom Chamberlain as the villanous J.R. Brinkley is both charismatic and unsettling. His slow curving grin sent chills up my spine. I was relieved afterward that this relationship was a fictional representation, because Annie Nicole Merrit’s portrayal of his wife, Minnie, severed my soul. In the 1920s, opportunities to escape an abusive relationship were few. Minnie’s breakdown in Act II as she reflected on the impossibility of a happier life tore me in two. 

 

 

The crowning achievement of this production is that of Sue Breland as Fanny Fishbein, the elderly mother of Chuck Winkler's Dr. Morris Fishbein. Fanny is dying of cancer. Breland has worked 40 years in Austin’s theatrical community and her dedication shows! Fanny FIshbein has experienced the raw suffering of life. She is desperate for any hope that Brinkley may have offer a treatment that will save her – something more substantive than her physician son’s palliative pills. The wringing of her hands as she grasps the radio knobs after Brinkley’s final broadcast brought me to tears.

 

I highly recommend Different Stages production of Dolores Diaz’s Man of the People. It is engaging and inquisitive, and the work emphasizes the need for joyful connection.

 

The show runs about 2 hours, with a 10-minute intermission between acts. I do recommend attending early – not for good seats (equal view anywhere in the house), but because of the challenge of parking downtown! Man of the People runs at Trinity Street Playhouse through January 24, 2026

 

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Man of the People
by Dolores Diaz
Different Stages

January 9-24, 2026

Trinity Street Playhouse

901 Trinity St. First Baptist Church, 4th Fl

Austin, Tx 78701

Thursday-Friday- Saturday- at 7:30 p.m.,

Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

$17, 27, $37 pick your price

For information call 512-926-6747

For tickets https://www.differentstagestheatre.org