July 8, 1962 - While President Kennedy and his family relaxed on Squaw Island on Nantucket Sound, an improvisational troupe of actors called The Compass was satirizing the Administration twice nightly for delighted audiences at the Yachtsman Hotel in Hyannis, Mass., about a mile and a half away. Some of the loudest laughter has come from the White House entourage, whose members have been dropping in at performances. At a mock news conference conducted from the stage at one performance, 26-year-old Alan Alda (pictured), skillfully impersonating the President, parried questions from the audience about Laos (“I would say that — as we’ve explained before — our position would be — firm — but flexible.”) Last night’s performance was recorded, and it is expected to be played for the White House staff. The producers hope the troupe will be invited to perform for the Presidential family later in the season. It is understood that Joseph P. Kennedy, the President’s father, has a small theatre in his summer house at Hyannis Port.
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