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Baghdaddy , now titled Who's Your Baghdaddy, or How I Started the Iraq War, is a satirical musical comedy stage play with music and book by Marshall Paillet, lyrics and book by A. D. Penedo, based on an unproduced screenplay by J. T. Allen, and produced by Charlie Fink. The musical is based on historical events leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States, and focuses on how the CIA and BND (German intelligence service) provided the Bush administration with a justification for invading Iraq.
Baghdaddy was produced off-off-Broadway at The Actors' Temple in 2015. The production was critically acclaimed, and was dubbed a Critic's Pick by The New York Times. A new production opened off-Broadway at the St. Luke's Theatre on May 1, 2017.
Who's Your Baghdaddy, or How I Started the Iraq War, was produced in Australia in 2020 and streamed live online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The character "Curveball" is based on an actual Iraqi defector and BND informant, Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, who was known by the Defense Intelligence Agency cryptonym "Curveball." The fictional character "Tyler Nelson" shares a first name and some biographical details with the late, retired CIA official Tyler Drumheller, while the character "Martin Bouchard" shares several biographical details with former UN Chief Weapons Inspector and Iraq Survey Group leader David Kay.
Australian Premiere - LIVE streamed production
In 2020, Curveball Creative produced a first of live musical theatre during the COVID-19 pandemic by isolating performers in a large house and having them perform to camera. After being performed between 24 and 28 June 2020, it remained available to stream online. The production was critically acclaimed and consisted of Neil Gooding directing the eight-person Australian cast, choreographed by Leah Howard and musically directed by Steven Kreamer. Including: Blake Erickson ( Shrek The Musical), Doug Hansell ( Come From Away), Phillip Lowe (Mamma Mia), Laura Murphy ( Muriel’s Wedding), Matthew Predny ( Kinky Boots), Adam Rennie ( The Rocky Horror Show), Katrina Retallick ( Come From Away), and Troy Sussman ( Aladdin).
The story focuses on the recruitment and eventual disgrace of an Iraqi defector, codenamed "Curveball," and the use and misuse of his testimony by the CIA, State Department, and Bush administration. In Baghdaddy, as in reality, Curveball provides Western intelligence agencies with false intelligence on Iraqi mobile weapons laboratories. This intelligence, which is later discovered to have been fabricated, was used by Secretary of State Colin Powell in his 2003 speech to the UN Security Council to justify the invasion of Iraq and overthrow of Saddam Hussein.
Several weeks later, an Iraqi man shows up at a Germany customs booth claiming to have important information for the CIA ("Stay Preprise"). At the BND, Richart begins another day as a Junior detective ("Das Man"), but gets assigned to interrogate the informant, codenamed Curveball, as he is the only operative that speaks Arabic. Richart interrogates Curveball, who warns him of mobile weapons labs and agrees to tell everything in exchange for asylum ("Stay"). Realizing how important this intel could be on a global scale, Richart contacts the CIA. ("I Deserve a Reprise")
At the CIA headquarters, outcast analysts Berry and Jerry lament being overlooked in their field. They receive a fax from Richart with Curveball's information ("Berry and the Bad Boy"). Thrilled at the opportunity for action, they bring the case to Nelson, but he asks for more proof before he can approve ("Rules"). He directs them to Martin, who, although wary of Nelson's involvement, joins the group in hopes of gaining credit for his compendium ("Berry's Dilemma"). Over the next month, Curveball slowly reveals his history with the mobile germ weapons, all of which line up with Martin's theories ("Hydrangea Reports").
While the team is optimistic, Jerry intentionally flubs a translation of a message from Richart to make Curveball seem like a reliable source. This leads to the CIA confirming the story and taking the case live. Jerry professes he lied to give Berry the big break she's always wanted ("We Deserve Another Reprise"). As the operatives celebrate their success, Richart begins to have doubts about how honest Curveball's story is ("Hydrangea Supplemental Report"). Jerry reevaluates what Berry means to him ("Music to Me"). Curveball and Richart have a night out in Berlin ("Who's Your Baghdaddy"), while the CIA agents receive word of a plane highjacking.
Berry, Jerry, and Martin travel to Iraq to search warehouses for the weapons factory Curveball claimed to have built, but fail to find any weapons. In Germany, Richart searches for Curveball, who has fled the BND and is eventually found in a holding cell ("Martin's Search"). As Berry, Jerry, and Martin are on the way to speak with Curveball face-to-face in Germany, their car is ambushed and Jerry is shot and killed. Martin, Berry, and Richart realize Curveball's plan to memorize Martin's compendium and present it as fact ("Speak to Me Tomorrow"). The show ends where it began, with the support group members reciting the pledge ("The Pledge Reprise"). Martin walks into the meeting late, and when asked if he blames himself for these events, the lights dim.
| + !Act One !Act Two | |
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| + !Character !Original off-off-Broadway cast !Original off-Broadway cast !Australian premiere | |||
| Martin Bouchard | Bob D'Haene | Doug Hansell | |
| Richart Becker | Brennan Caldwell | Matt Predny | |
| Curveball | Nehal Joshi, Pomme Koch (standby) | Joe Joseph | Troy Sussman |
| Tyler Nelson | Jason Collins | Phillip Lowe | |
| Berry Stanton | Larisa Oleynik | Laura Murphy | |
| Jerry Samuel | Olli Haaskivi | Ethan Slater | Adam Rennie |
| Female Ensemble Member | Claire Neumann | Katrina Retallick | |
| Leader of the Support Group/Male Ensemble | Brandon Espinoza | ||
| Male Ensemble Member | Blake Erickson | ||
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