Entertainment

RIGHT TURN ON B’WAY?

THERE’S no shortage of shows about cultural and political issues in New York these days.

“Billy Elliot,” set during the British miners’ strike of 1984, champions the working man while excoriating Margaret Thatcher.

“Hair” has long been a

standard-bearer for the

anti-war movement.

And “Shrek” proclaims, loudly and proudly and with profound infantilism, that it’s OK to be different, so “fly your freak flag!”

All these views are the correct ones, as everyone who works in the theater knows.

But wouldn’t it be novel if, every once in a while, a show did more than reaffirm what theater people know to be the absolute truth?

Well, hold on to your WNYC tote bags. In the works are two plays written by — eek! — conservatives, although whether the Obama-mad New York theater establishment will ever produce them remains to be seen.

“Reagan” is a one-man play that doesn’t portray the 40th president as a fascist. It’s by Lionel Chetwynd, whose scripts for television and film include “The Hanoi Hilton,” “Color of Justice,” “Kissinger and Nixon” and “DC 9/11: Time of Crisis.”

The other play is “Girls in Trouble (Formerly Three Abortions)” by Jonathan Reynolds, one of the few openly conservative members of the Dramatists Guild.

His play “Stonewall Jackson’s House,” a sharp attack on political correctness, was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1998.

Chetwynd declined to comment on “Reagan,” except to say with a laugh, “It will change lives and the course of history.”

A copy of an early script portrays Reagan as thoughtful, determined, sly (when necessary) and winning.

Talking to the audience from the main room of his California ranch, Reagan explains his journey from FDR Democrat to conservative Republican. Along the way, he offers a spirited defense of conservative principles.

At least three top directors have passed on the play because, says a source, “They can’t stand Ronald Reagan.”

Sources say Peter Hunt, who directed “1776,” has signed on.

I’m sure “Reagan” could run forever in Branson, Mo., but it would be fun to see it on Broadway, if only for the agita it would cause the Tony Award nominating committee.

Who could play Reagan?

Jeff Daniels is on the wish list, but I think the producers should shake things up and go after Alec Baldwin.

He may not draw well in Branson, but he’d get “Reagan” to New York.

In “Girls in Trouble,” Reynolds presents a balanced view of pro-lifers while taking some swipes at the NPR crowd. The play ends with a harrowing confrontation between two women — one pro-life, the other pro-choice — that’s not for the squeamish.

“Thus far, its claim to fame is that it’s been turned down by all the theaters in New York,” Reynolds says of his play.

“It was commissioned by the Long Wharf, but they wouldn’t put it on. There was a theater in the suburbs of Washington, DC, that said they wanted to present the ‘other side’ of the abortion debate. But when they read it, they said it would ‘infuriate our audience.’ ”

Oskar Eustis, the head of the Public Theater, told Reynolds that his staff “didn’t go for it,” but that he would take a look at it himself.

Jim Simpson, the head of the Flea Theater, has agreed to do a reading, although he told Reynolds that since 60 percent of his audience is women over 40, “They’re not going to like it.”

Says Reynolds: “I think the pro-life side has something to say. But I don’t think theater people want to hear it. So far, I’ve been right, and I think I’ll be right for the next four years.”

michael.riedel@nypost.com