MAMET'S 'RACE' RESONATES AT ACT
By Carol Benet
artssf.com, the independent observer of San Francisco Bay Area theater
Weeks starting Nov. 5, 2011
Vol.
14, No. 20
A.C.T.‘s
presentation of David Mamet’s most recent play “Race” is a courtroom
drama about a rich, white male (Kevin
O’Rourke as Charles Strickland) who has been accused of raping a black
woman in
a hotel. Sound current? It should.
“Race”
is a hit. This production comes direct
from Broadway where it was also a success and it deserves to be. The
subject is
timely, the four actors and the technical staff and direction are
excellent.
David Mamet has two
talents as a playwright. First his plays
deal with contemporary issues that are being debated on all levels of
American
society, government, academia, civic organizations and by everyday
people of
our country. Secondly he is one of the
most original wordsmiths writing today.
His language is so full of meaning and it is almost poetical in
his
rapid and attacking cadence. It is a
challenge to the actors to Mamet-speak and the four in this show have
mastered
it.
Strickland chooses a law firm with two partners, one black (Chris
Butler as Henry Brown) and one white (Anthony Fusco as Jack Lawson). The third member of the team is a rather
newly hired black woman (Susan Heyward as Susan), ivy-league graduate,
pretty
and competent. Their ethnic composition is the reason Strickland comes
to
them. It looks good to the jury.
But this firm
was second choice because the first one wouldn’t
touch the case and even Henry lectures, “if they lose they lose; If
they win
they lose.” This refers to the many
layers of reality in court cases with juries deciding on racial issues. Of course the O.J. Simpson trial comes up as
an example.
Even though
the case is about rape, the lawyers say it is really
about race and here is where Mamet puts in his two cents.
A recent convert to conservative thinking
after a lifetime as a liberal as was his lawyer father, (he said he was
“someone codependent on the herd”), he met and was influenced by the
writing of
Shelby Steele, a black conservative intellectual working at the Hoover
Institute at Stanford, a right leaning think-tank.
Mamet dedicates “Race” to him.
The
psychological levels in this play are so intricate and
convoluted that with the fast repartee, it would be a play to read in
its
entirety. The interactions between the two black lawyers is priceless
with
Henry degrading Susan at every turn. And
it is she who thinks Strickland is
guilty from the get-go. Why?
He looks guilty. She just knows
it.
The partners
don’t have an opinion and don’t really care because
they are just in it, and in every case they get, just for the money. As Jack says that this is what they do
for a
living and he didn’t like being poor. Henry agrees.
They have the attitude that in court cases
“There are no facts; only two fictions.” And even at the surprising
end, you,
the audience, still don’t know whether Strickland was guilty. But you
do know
that he will not get a fair trail because he is white and rich. This is
Mamet’s
and Steele’s point.
The set is
perfect (Chris Barreca). One large law
office with an enormous wall
filled with leather bound law books is adjoined by another room into
which you
can see through the class wall. That is
where Strickland is told to go and write down all the bad things he has
done in
his life so there won’t be any surprises at the trial. Rui Rita’s
lighting is
so bright that it makes the charged atmosphere all the more intense.
Candice
Donnelly’s costumes are perfect for the three men and the woman lawyer
--- all
suited up.
Irene Lewis
directed this short, 90 minute intermissionless
play. She and the actors, all but Fusco,
and the technical staff do not come from the A.C.T. repertory troupe.
It is
wonderful to see such such talent.
“Race” runs at A.C.T. San
Francisco through November 13. Look for the schedule of several
post-performance discussions with professors, lawyers and social
justice
experts. For info: at (415) 749-2228, or go online.
#
© Carol Benet 2011
Carol Benet is a regular theater reviewer for artssf.com.
These critiques appearing weekly (or sometimes semi-weekly, but never
weakly)focus
on theater, dance and new musical creativity in performance, with
forays
into recordings by local artists, and a few departures into books (by
authors
of the region)as well.
#
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