Giving Mamet another chance

After a month off, my fall theatergoing starts this weekend. I'm heading back to the profane, cynical world of playwright David Mamet for Glengarry Glen Ross at the Gamm Theatre.

I've said before that I think Mamet has become less interested in writing a compelling narrative than in bludgeoning the audience with his views on politics or culture or the society in which we live.

My previous two Mamet outings, Speed-the-Plow and Race on Broadway, were disappointing for that reason. Neither his characters nor the situations they were in seemed wholly believable.

(Although I did love Raul Esparza's take on a desperate Hollywood producer in Speed-the-Plow.)

But I have hopes that the third time will be the charm, because I enjoyed the 1992 movie version of Glengarry Glen Ross.

It has a terrific cast including Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Alan Arkin, Jonathan Pryce, Ed Harris, Al Pacino and of course, Kevin Spacey, delivering the line: Will you go to lunch? (With you Kevin, anytime!)



The Pulitzer-winning Glengarry Glen Ross was first produced on Broadway in 1984. I think that was a time, before Speed-the-Plow and Race, when Mamet was still interested in telling a story. His small-time Chicago real estate agents, willing to do anything to make a sale, seemed real.

Bottom line - I don't mind a playwright's view of the world onstage but diatribes bore me. You've got to tell me a story. That's why I'm sitting in the theatre. So one more chance for you, David Mamet.

Countdown to the Tonys

I know the weather outside was frightful earlier this week and June seems awfully far away. But we're halfway through the 2008-2009 Broadway season and the Tony Awards will be here before you know it. Based on the shows I saw in November, here are my nominations so far. What's great about my favorite performances is that I was seeing these actors on stage for the very first time.

Best Musical, Billy Elliot
I've seen three new musicals, Billy Elliot, Shrek and 13. So far, Billy Elliot gets my vote. It tells the story of a boy in a Northern England mining town with such heart and imagination and memorable characters. Plus, the dance numbers are amazing. But I really enjoyed 13 and I hope Jason Robert Brown gets a nomination for his energetic rock 'n' roll score. I'm also looking forward to 9 to 5 in the spring and I'm really sorry I missed [title of show].

Gregory Jbara, Billy Elliot
I loved Gregory Jbara as Billy's dad, a hardened, gruff man who can't imagine a life for his son that doesn't involve learning to box and going to work in the coal mines someday. Just the way he goes from being totally opposed to his son's desire to dance, to being totally sympathetic and supportive, is wonderful to watch. Jbara handles the transformation so well.

Haydn Gwynne, Billy Elliot
As Mrs. Wikinson, the no-nonsense dance teacher who takes Billy under her wing, Haydn Gwynne is hilarious and unforgettable. She really becomes the boy's champion and I love how tough she is in confronting his father. Except for the moments when Billy is dancing, Gwynne comes close to stealing the show for me.

Christopher Sieber, Shrek
As the ruthless and vertically challenged Lord Farquaad, Christopher Sieber was one of my favorite things about Shrek. He was very witty and hammed it up a bit without going over the top. I just felt like the musical had more of a spark and became more interesting when he was on stage.

Martha Plimpton, Pal Joey
Martha Plimpton was terrific in Pal Joey as chorus girl Gladys Bumps, who's been wronged by nightclub owner Joey Evans and schemes to get her revenge on him. She has a great comic touch and I especially loved what she does with the song "Zip."

Choreography, Billy Elliot
Peter Darling's choreography has made this musical such a tribute to the absolute joy of movement, the artistry and exuberance and sheer athleticism of dance. I loved all the tutu-clad little ballerinas and watching Billy transformed from awkwardness to grace. While Billy Elliot was my favorite, I hope Christopher Gattelli gets a nomination for 13. I really enjoyed his exuberant choreography, especially in the opening number, "13/Becoming a Man."

Costume design, Pal Joey
What impressed me about William Ivey Long's costumes for Pal Joey is the way they really help define each of the main characters - the smooth-talking ladies man Joey, looking very suave in his tuxedo; Gladys, the showgirl, looking cheap and flashy; Vera, the sophisticated, socialite in glamorous gowns and tailored suits; and Linda, the sweet and innocent shopgirl, in modest skirts and blouses.

Set design, Pal Joey
I loved the look of Scott Pask's sets for Pal Joey - the elevated train track in the background, the winding wrought-iron staircase leading down to this seedy, out-of-the-way nightclub in 1930s Chicago. Even when the action shifts to a luxury apartment or a clothes shop, Pask's set design retains its dark, somber tone, which is so in keeping with the tone of this musical.

Raul Esparza, Speed-the-Plow
For me, Raul Esparza's turn as Hollywood producer Charlie Fox was the best thing about Speed-the-Plow, especially watching him in the climactic third scene. It's a point when his livelihood, everything he's tried to achieve in the business, is at stake, and he delivers an amazing performance. His character's disintegration, desperation, truly was thrilling to watch.

Daniel Radcliffe, Equus
I didn't know what to expect from Daniel Radcliffe in Equus, but I came away being impressed by his performance as Alan Strang, a young man who inexplicably blinds six horses. Radcliffe does such a terrific job portraying this troubled soul - from his initial clipped, nonsensical dialog to his trembling under a blanket at the end of the play, after all his defenses have been stripped away.

Anna Camp, Equus
I thought Anna Camp nailed the role of Jill Mason, the more worldly girl who gets Strang a part-time job at the stable where she works, and lures him into a sexual situation. I don't think she means to hurt Strang but she's clearly leading him into something that he's not ready to handle. She's his total opposite - talkative and perky and confident. I love the way she carries herself - her blond ponytail bobbing. Camp is so effective in the role.

Hallie Foote, Dividing the Estate I laughed all the way through Dividing the Estate and I hope several cast members get nominations. But I especially loved Hallie Foote's performance as a daughter desperate to get her hands on her inheritance to ease her own family's financial crisis. She was so great to watch - sharp-tongued, covetous - and had a way of delivering the most outrageous lines with such perfect seriousness. What a hoot. I'd never heard of Hallie Foote before. What a wonderful discovery.

Exit Jeremy Piven

Wow, a second actor I saw on my recent trip to New York has been forced to leave a show early. First, Christian Hoff pulls out of Pal Joey with a foot injury and is replaced by his understudy, Matthew Risch. Now, Jeremy Piven has left his role as Hollywood producer Bobby Gould in Speed-the-Plow because a high level of mercury in his system has made him sick.

According to a statement from the show's producers released today, "We have been advised by Jeremy Piven's medical representatives that he is seriously ill and is unable to fulfill his contractual obligation to Speed-the-Plow. Consequently, he has left the production ten weeks early."

Well this is live theatre, after all, and I do understand that people get sick. I certainly wish Piven a quick recovery. What I don't understand is this bizarre quote playwright David Mamet gave to Variety: "I talked to Jeremy on the phone, and he told me that he discovered that he had a very high level of mercury. So my understanding is that he is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer." Huh?

Speed-the-Plow continues at the Barrymore Theatre with Raul Esparza and Elisabeth Moss. Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz will play Gould from Dec. 23 to Jan. 11, followed by Academy Award nominee William H. Macy from Jan. 13-Feb. 22.

While I didn't love the play, I thought Esparza gave an amazing performance. If I could, I would definitely be interested in seeing it again with Butz or Macy. I feel sorry for Moss, of AMC's Mad Men, who's making her Broadway debut. The whole second scene is her character and Gould. Now, she'll have to get used to playing off two different actors.

So far, there's been some anger on the part of fans, judging from these comments on a New York Times message board. Several people said they had bought tickets to Speed-the-Plow as Christmas presents for spouses or made plans to see the play themselves solely because they were fans of Piven's from his role on HBO's Entourage.

I can certainly understand how they feel. Moss and Piven were the two main reasons I had for wanting to see Speed-the-Plow and I would have been very disappointed if they'd been out. (Even though, in the end, I enjoyed Esparza's performance much more. It was definitely the highlight for me.)

I've been extremely lucky (knock on wood) with nearly all the actors I've come to Broadway to see. The handful of times that I've had understudies, I thought they were great - including Ariana Grande in 13 and Saycon Sengbloh in The Color Purple.

Interestingly, the producers of Speed-the-Plow are going for established actors to replace Piven, rather than give the role to his understudy, Jordan Lage. (Who's playing the role for a few performances.) I guess that's simply a reflection of the fact that you almost always need a "name" in a play on Broadway.

There's a story in The New York Press by Dana Rossi about the actors who are understudies to celebrities on Broadway. "Let’s face it; we’re such a fame-obsessed culture that celebrity alone often draws people to theater in droves."

Rossi takes issue with fans who come just to see a star and questions why they're at the theatre in the first place. "It comes down to this: Why are you seeing this show? If it’s just to see Shirley Famouspants in a role anyone could play, maybe you belong at the venue where the performers are inside the big screen."

I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to see a play or musical because it features an actor you know from television or the movies. That's often the reason I'm interested in seeing a play. Whenever I go to New York, my coworkers want to know "who" I'm seeing that they might have heard about.

But honestly, the actors who end up impressing me the most are people like Eve Best, Raul Esparza, Hallie Foote, Gregory Jbara, Laura Benanti, the entire cast of August: Osage County. They're actors most people have probably never heard of unless they're theatre fans.

In some cases, I'd never heard of them before seeing them on stage. But they totally won me over and they've become the reason to see the show. And that's become part of the thrill - which actor will I see for the first time who'll really excite me?

Esparza and Mametspeak

I love this description of Raul Esparza in Jeremy McCarter's Newsweek essay about the key to interpreting David Mamet's language. Esparza's performance as Hollywood producer Charlie Fox in Speed-the-Plow was my first time seeing him on stage and he was riveting, especially in the play's final scene.

"Vocal limitations also hamper the revival of Speed-the-Plow, Mamet's comedy about a producer and an office temp trying to persuade a movie executive to make two different films. Though Jeremy Piven (Ari Gold on Entourage) and Elisabeth Moss (Peggy on Mad Men) have done plenty of stage work, their performances as the executive and the temp come off like those in American Buffalo: clear and poised but lacking the lyrical flash that Mamet demands. Why, then, does the show thrive?

Listen closely to Raul Esparza. The young star of musical theater all but sings the role of the craven producer, flickering from deadpan comic understatement to high, excited shrieks. He brings to Mametspeak the verbal flair you'd expect from an actor who spent the past two years slaloming through the rhythms of Sondheim and Pinter."

Speed-the-Plow

Gratuitous Violins rating: ** 1/2 out of ****

I've seen a couple of David Mamet's movies and I've watched the 1992 film of his play Glengarry Glen Ross but I wasn't quite prepared for hearing Mamet's staccato dialog spoken onstage at Broadway's Barrymore Theatre in Speed-the-Plow.

The opening banter between Hollywood producers Bobby Gould (Jeremy Piven, from HBO's Entourage) and Charlie Fox (Raul Esparza) is so fast paced, I had a hard time figuring out what they were talking about for the first few minutes. But even though it was a bit confusing, it was also kind of exhilarating and both actors do a good job delivering Mamet's lines.

Gould and Fox are two longtime friends whose relationship is about to move to a new, more lucrative, level. Gould's gotten a big promotion and Fox has convinced a popular action star to make a prison buddy movie, which he wants to bring to Gould's studio. The two giddily contemplate the money they'll rake in - but the deal has to be wrapped up by the next morning.

Enter Gould's temporary secretary, Karen, played by Elisabeth Moss of the tv series Mad Men. In the first act, Moss' character is sweet and innocent and a little timid. Gould asks her to look over a novel he's been handed for a "courtesy read" to determine whether or not it could be made into a movie. She's supposed to come over his house that evening with her report.

The second scene, with Karen at Gould's house trying to convince him to make the movie, is where Speed-the-Plow dragged a little bit for me. I don't think Piven or Moss quite pull it off, but I also think this is the weakest-written part of the play.

Mamet is obviously trying to say something about art versus commerce in Hollywood, how the studios always go for mindless entertainment over more thoughtful subjects. But this book seems so unworthy I can't understand why anyone would get worked up over it, especially not someone as savvy and experienced in the movie business as Bobby Gould. From the snippets we hear, it sounds awful - it's about the history of radioactivity and the end of the world, or something like that. I could never quite figure it out.

Plus, I didn't think Moss' Karen was so wily and seductive that she could have persuaded Gould to take on such a risky project. As he tells Karen, "if the films I make lose money, then I'm back on the streets with a sweet and silly smile on my face." And I didn't think that Piven's Gould seemed truly transformed after their evening together. I didn't sense that he had an epiphany and saw the light.

Another thing that bothered me: Mamet has constructed the play as a false dichotomy. Lots of movies get made every year, and some of them are the small, thought-provoking films that this book is supposed to represent. In fact, I think most of the major studios have specialty divisions where directors and producers can make "independent" films as well as action movies. So it's not really an either/or situation, no matter how Mamet tries to represent it.

But for me, what saves Speed-the-Plow and makes it worthwhile is Esparza's performance in the play's final scene. I wanted to see the play mainly for Piven and Moss, whom I've enjoyed in their tv roles, but I ended up loving Esparza. This was my first time seeing him on stage and he was awesome.

His disintegration at the end, his desperation, was thrilling to watch. You can see him grasping at straws, thinking on his feet. It's like this battle of wits with Karen. His life is at stake, his livelihood, everything he's tried to achieve. Here he is, about to reach the summit of his professional life, and this nobody comes from out of nowhere to block his ascent. And I didn't know who was going to win, which made it even more thrilling.

Fox can't believe that Gould wants to make a movie out of this bizarre and indecipherable book. He has a great line: "You can't tell it to me in one sentence, they can't put it in TV Guide." Which is so true - even if hardly anyone one reads TV Guide anymore. But we subscribed to it when I was a kid and I read it faithfully every week, so I knew what he meant.

Still, Speed-the-Plow got me thinking. I've discussed it with a more knowledgeable friend, and maybe there's some nuance to Mamet's writing or Piven's and Moss' performances that went by me. Unfortunately, I can't pop the dvd in for another go-round. If I lived in New York, I'd buy a cheap ticket and see it again just to make sure - and for Raul Esparza.

And Moss makes three

I love the television series Mad Men, about a New York City advertising agency in the 1960s, so I'm happy to hear that one of its stars, Elisabeth Moss, will make her Broadway debut in this fall's revival of David Mamet's play Speed-the-Plow.

On Mad Men, Moss plays Peggy Olson, the new girl in the secretarial pool at the Sterling Cooper ad agency. Her character is sweet and a little naive, but also ambitious, working her way up to junior copywriter in a very male-dominated world. She's also the source of a very big, and dramatic, surprise in the plot at the end of the show's first sesason.

On Broadway, Moss will be paired with the already announced Jeremy Piven, of HBO's Entourage, who'll also be making his Broadway debut, and Raul Esparza in the three-person play. Hopefully Esparza, being a Broadway veteran, will show them the ropes.

It's kind of interesting that two-thirds of the cast will be making their debut on the Great White Way, although both have off-Broadway credits. Moss made her stage debut in 2002, in Richard Nelson's Franny's Way. And Piven, whose parents founded the Piven Theatre Workshop, in Evanston, Ill., appeared off-Broadway in 2005 in Neil LaBute's play Fat Pig.

While they've made movies, Piven and Moss are probably best known for their television work. Before Mad Men, Moss played the president's daughter in The West Wing. And they're both playing characters in Speed-the-Plow that remind me a little of their current television roles.

In Speed-the-Plow, a caustic, satirical look at the movie business, Piven plays Hollywood production executive Bobby Gould and Esparza will be producer Charlie Fox. Moss will portray Karen, Gould's secretary. She'll be following in the footsteps of Madonna, who played the role on Broadway in 1988.

Here's a description from Playbill: "Speed-the-Plow focuses on two high-powered Hollywood executives, Charlie Fox and Bobby Gould, who have come up from the mailroom together," according to press notes. "Charlie brings Bobbie a surefire hit with a major star attached. Bobby seems certain to give the green light, until his beautiful new secretary gets involved."

I haven't read Speed-the-Plow, but Piven's character sounds like it might bear more than a little resemblance to Ari Gold, the frenetic, ruthless and hilarious Hollywood agent he plays on Entourage. I'm not sure how Moss' character compares with Peggy Olson, but my guess is that she'll be a very different type of secretary than she is on Mad Men. And I think the cast sounds pretty promising.

If you're not familiar with Moss, I highly recommend checking out Season 2 of Mad Men, which starts Sunday at 10 p.m. on AMC. If you want to catch up beforehand, Season 1 is available on DVD. Speed-the-Plow begins previews at the Belasco Theatre on Oct. 3.

Theater talk

Now, I feel like I can be an even more in-the-know Broadway theatergoer.

My local PBS station, WSBE, has started showing Theater Talk, produced by WNET in New York and cohosted by New York Post theater columnist Michael Riedel. He describes the show as "a sort of Meet the Press of Broadway. We want viewers to feel that they are sitting around with theater insiders at a Broadway hangout, talking, gossiping and joking about the theater.''

The guests on last night's program were Ian McShane and Raul Esparza, currently starring in The Homecoming. It was a great conversation about playwright Harold Pinter, about both actors' careers and about the future of straight plays on Broadway. I just wish their costar, the very talented Eve Best, has been a guest, too.

Upcoming programs will feature Chazz Palminteri from the one-man show A Bronx Tale, Irish actors Ciaran Hinds and Conleth Hill from The Seafarer, and Rock 'n' Roll playwright Tom Stoppard. Even though I won't get to see A Bronx Tale, The Seafarer or The Homecoming, and I didn't like Rock 'n' Roll very much, I know I'll enjoy the interviews.

Plus, I know this is totally superficial, but when I was watching Raul Esparza, the first thing I thought was, "Wow, he has really big, beautiful eyes." And the picture above doesn't do them justice.

If the show doesn't air on your PBS station, you can watch the latest episode at the Theater Talk Web site. Plus, you can download the audio from previous shows as podcasts. But you really should watch it, especially the current show, just for Raul's eyes.