Feeling nostalgic for election coverage these days? The less than stellar news cycle, dominated by grim economic reports and unsettling foreign affairs, has many of us longing for last year’s giddy roller-coaster campaign, in which politics temporarily became the national thrill-a-minute pastime.

Gallery Link: On Stage – Play Photos > Farragut North ( 2009 )

“Farragut North,” Beau Willimon’s engaging drama about the dirty tricks and brutal backstabbing of those conducting the spin war for aspiring presidents, attempts to reignite our tapped-out passion for political one-upmanship. The play, which is having its West Coast premiere at the Geffen Playhouse, may not be able to compete with the loony stranger-than-fiction cast of recent election battles or offer us any stop-the-presses scoops about our Swift Boat campaign culture, but it does capture the frenzied scheming and counter-scheming of would-be Washington kingmakers.

Better yet, the production has a rising superstar on board who could give Barack Obama a run for his charismatic money. Chris Pine, the paparazzi’s current object of affection after his breakout role as Capt. James T. Kirk in the new “Star Trek” film, stars as Stephen Bellamy, a 25-year-old press secretary for a Democratic presidential candidate who remains an invisible presence throughout. Imagine Karl Rove as a fit, chicly dressed media strategist for the other side and you have some idea of the nature of this latest boy genius.

Again thanks to Jen for bringing this to my attention!

Thanks to Jen of CPN @ Livejournal for kindly posting these to share with us.

The cast of “Farragut North” poses for a group photo at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles Tuesday, June 23, 2009. From left, front row, are Isiah Whitlock Jr., Chris Noth, Olivia Thirlby and Chris Pine. Back, from left, are Justin Huen, director Doug Hughes, writer Beau Willimon, Mia Barron and Dan Bittner.

Gallery Link: Photo Sessions > Session #027

As I previously posted late last week I bring you high quality versions of the production photos of Chris and the cast on stage for Farragut North. Photos courtesy of Michael Lamont of GeffenPlayhouse.com. Thanks to Andreas for bringing this to my attention.

Gallery Link: On Stage – Play Photos > Farragut North ( 2009 )

Pine, 28, costars with ” Sex and the City’s” Chris Noth as media massagers in the psychological drama inspired by Howard Dean’s 2004 campaign, which briefly claimed the energies of the playwright and recovering politico Beau Willimon. Pine plays Stephen, a wunderkind press secretary who prides himself on his ability to manipulate any situation.

At the moment, Stephen is trying to work his magic on an attractive young intern played by ” Juno’s” Olivia Thirlby, who was in the New York production’s original cast last fall. In a Geffen rehearsal room, under the watchful eye of director Doug Hughes (who also helmed the current Mark Taper Forum production of David Mamet’s “Oleanna”), Molly/Olivia has just entered to drop off an envelope for Stephen/Chris at a dingy restaurant in East Des Moines, Iowa, where he’s making calls. And now he’s trying to beguile her into sticking around for a drink.

The characters play a flirtatious game of verbal ping-pong, and then Pine suddenly mimes reeling in Thirlby as if she’s on the end of an invisible hook. Hughes is delighted. “Your silver-tongued eloquence claims another helpless victim,” he says.

To read Holly’s entire written encounter of Chris in ‘Farragut North’ as well as when she was lucky enough to meet him then check out her post on our @forum

You can view the full size photo here

At that point in the interview, Chris Pine walked into the room. The 28-year-old actor, who plays Stephen and appeared two years ago at the Geffen in a production of Neil Labute’s “Fat Pig,” is a lot more in demand these days as a result of his much-praised portrayal of the young James T. Kirk in the just-released big-screen blockbuster “Star Trek.”

“This guy is tremendous,” Noth said of Pine. “He’s really good at it; brings all kinds of dimensions to the role. He was born to be onstage.”

You can read the entire article & interview with Chris Noth here @OC Register.com

Gallery Link: On Stage – Play Photos > Farragut North ( 2009 )

Chris Pine steps back onto terra firma with the Geffen Playhouse production of ‘Farragut North.’
In 2007, Chris Pine was appearing in a Los Angeles production of Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig. He played the bad-boy pal, that cocky kid in the office who bends the rules for the sport of it. It was a secondary role, but Pine absolutely nailed it—a young actor to watch.

And people were indeed watching. He caught the attention of a Paramount Pictures exec who attended the Geffen Playhouse production. And Paramount was soon to be in need of a young Captain James T. Kirk.

Also in the Geffen audience were the director and CD in need of actors for 2008’s Bottle Shock. They nabbed Pine for the little film about an upstart Napa Valley winery in the sleepy 1970s, in which he was unrecognizable as a sunny hippie, the antithesis of his LaBute character. Playing opposite Alan Rickman in Bottle Shock, Pine apparently did what he is doing to this day: He spent his off time discussing theater. As Rickman last year recalled from their time on the set, “Chris and I talked and still do talk about theater and things he wants to do in the theater, which is reassuring in terms of somebody who just finished doing Star Trek and is about to have all that’s going to land on him through that—that he’s still got his eye fixed on a different horizon, or a parallel horizon. He’s a serious, and really talented, actor.”

Yes, the publicity and fan adoration from Star Trek has landed squarely on Pine. Nice, but seemingly not his goal in life. When Back Stage spoke with him, he was into the second day of rehearsals, back at the Geffen Playhouse, working on a lead role in Beau Willimon’s Farragut North. As Pine says, “At the end of the day, I want a long career, and I want a career made up of many and diverse roles.” The 28-year-old is well on his way.