Watertown Food Pantry

This December New Rep is teaming up with the Watertown Food Pantry! When you come to the theater this month you can bring various food items to donate to the pantry.

This holiday season the pantry is mostly in need of the following items:

• Cookies- especially Fig Newtons
• Tooth paste
• Honey
• Dry fruit
• Granola bars

Any other donations will be greatly appreciated! When you come to the theater there will be a box in the lobby of the theater for you to place your donation. For more information about the Watertown Food Pantry please visit www.newrep.org/foodpantry.php

Dear Scrooge,

Over the past few weeks Mr. Scrooge has received a lot of letters from kids all around town who want to win free tickets to see him in Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol. Because of the great response, Mr. Scrooge had a hard time picking just one winner! So this year, for the first time in New Rep history, we have three winners - one grand prize winner ( pictures with Mr. Scrooge on stage) and two runner ups.

Thanks to everyone who joined in the fun and wrote a letter to Scrooge and congrats to our three winners. Here is the winning letter:

Stella and Ruby:

We want to learn more about you!

Hey everyone,

In order to keep you up to date with New Rep and better serve you we need to know more about you. Please take a few minutes to take this survey (http://tinyurl.com/ykbt9jb) and you will be entered to win two free tickets to a New Rep show. I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

New Rep

Death, Fear & An Ethical Dilemma..Mamet! - Reviewed by J. K. Cosmos

Mad Men vibe and fast paced talk compels the audience and presents a 'Must See' production at the New Rep. With Mamet, there are expectations and they were met and then some in Watertown.

Robert Pemberton as "Bobby" with his exceptional accent not to be under-estimated when most of Hollywood only pretends to be from a particular venue. Pemberton convinces us and he readily draws us in to his point of view. Pemberton shines in this role.

The play between him and Gabriel Kuttner exceptional. Kuttner is believable as Charlie Fox and as 'everyman' who is loyal and 'true blue' to the powers that run the show and the 'friends' that tantalize and promise a leg up.

Kuttner reflects that man and humanity's attempts to move ahead at any cost in his role as Fox. He understands the game plan and reminds the audience and more crucially his pal, Bobby Gould.

To take the top off, the play has a fight scene. The sudden burst of violence and blood presents another level of Mamet at his best. Director Robert Walsh deserves kudos for the entire production. Walsh transitions the scenes and directs the actors to lead us through the phases of it all; no small feat with this play.

The pivotal conflict is dramatized effectively; both sweetly and purposefully by Aimee Doherty. Her role as Karen is the rub and she moves as an ingenue and a femme fatale. Who knew Karen (Doherty) would have this effect? Doherty plays her hand close and the audience appreciates how she develops this part.

Mamet addresses art and the concepts of being worthy, much like Oscar Wilde did in his essays on art and the value of art, artists and critics.

The Actors, the action, the play - exceptional! Speed-The-Plow

Reviewed - J.K. Cosmos - New Rep Reviewer

Speed-the-Plow-Not-to-be-Missed

by Frank Furnari

David Mamet’s Speed-the-Plow opens with Charlie Fox, a film producer, presenting the plan to make this next smash prison movie with a big name celebrity to Bobby Gould, a newly promoted studio executive. The film has everything in it and it will sell, even if it’s not a great story. The dialogue here is typical Mamet-speak where sentences are rarely finished as they are interrupted by the other person, words are often repeated, and there are lots of swear words. Gabriel Kuttner as Charlie and Robert Pemberton as Bobby do this in such a natural way, as if they always speak this way and as a result get many laughs. We then meet Karen, played by the always-great Aimee Doherty, a good-looking temp that gets both men’s attention. She is pretty, seems innocent and hasn’t really figured out how things work in Hollywood. Charlie bets Bobby that she won’t sleep with him, Bobby accepts. To get Karen to come to his house, Bobby asks Karen to read a novel that he has already decided will not make a good movie - The Bridge; or, Radiation and the Half-Life of Society –she should report on it at his house that evening. She shows up, loves it, and tries to convince him to make it into a film. She reads several quotes from the book, which are some of the funniest moments of the show. Things happen that night and the next morning that determine which film will be made and who ends up on top.

This play premiered on Broadway in 1988 (Madonna played Karen!) and it feels fresh today, you can see nothing has changed in the movie industry. The play looks at the question of art vs. business – do we make the film that should be made – a good film, or do we just make the film that will make us rich? At one point when Bobby is asked, “Is it a good film?” he replies, “it’s a commodity.” In 85minutes of witty dialogue, we get a glimpse of life in the movie business played by three actors whom you really believe lived these lives.

While the production as a whole is great, Eric Levenson’s set was unimpressive. Not consisting of much more than a few chairs and a few tables, it left me wanting a little more – is this how sparse a studio executive’s office is? But then again, this is Mamet – it’s all about the words, and there are lots of them. Pay close attention, it’s worth it - you will catch most of the words in between all the laughter.

“Speed-the-Plow” Delivers

by Jana Pollack, New Rep Reviewer

“Speed-the-Plow,” David Mamet’s classic play, starts off as a picture of life in a Hollywood film studio - suits, swearing, and the allure of excessive wealth. Over its 80 minutes, this play humanizes the people who bring us blockbusters, and presents a moral dilemma about the responsibility of those who make decisions that ultimately shape our culture. 

The production currently running on the mainstage at New Rep, directed by Robert Walsh, is one of the best pieces of theatre that I’ve seen in a while. Every aspect is well done. All three actors give nuanced, full performances that are as genuine as they are hilarious; the set is interesting and evocative; the pumping music adds brilliantly to the atmosphere; and the lighting is crisp and decisive. This all comes together to produce a thoroughly entertaining evening of high quality theatre.

The show is done in threes - three characters, three scenes. Bobby Gould, the newly promoted studio executive, is portrayed by Robert Pemberton, and his performance is masterful. When we meet him, he is all talk and fluffed ego. But as the play continues, Mr. Pemberton expertly strips away Bobby’s outer shell, and this process is both hilarious and touching. One of the best moments comes when Bobby shyly seduces his new secretary; he takes on the body language of a teenage boy, and his slightly flushed face gives him away completely.

Charlie Fox, the executive underling, is played by Gabriel Kuttner. Mr. Kuttner makes amazing use of his movement. Charlie appears jumpy by nature, and this seems to be a physical manifestation of his deep sense of anger at never getting his shot. This movement progresses from his first moment on stage to his last, when he finally walks steadily, having taken control and gotten what he wanted. 

Finally, there is Karen, Bobby’s temporary secretary, played by Aimee Doherty. Ms. Doherty is faced with a challenge, as the character of Karen is not written as fully or given nearly as much motivation as her male counterparts. Doherty does a very credible job, moving swiftly from naive temp to passionate advocate. However, through the fault of the script, Karen’s choices remain somewhat unconvincing.

This play presents big questions in the guise of a somewhat silly scenario, a construction that gives the script tremendous versatility. This production made me laugh hard and long, and it also asked for an examination of how power is gained in human relationships, and what motivates decisions that have an impact on society. David Mamet has written a very good play, and Robert Walsh has directed an excellent production. I urge you to see “Speed the Plow.”

Speed the Plow -- fantastic

I have no idea why this play is called Speed-the-Plow, but I guess that’s kind of irrelevant. What is relevant is that this play is fantastic – the best New Rep has produced this year. Mamet is a great playwright and the dialogue is fast-paced, profanity-laced and, at times, almost too quick to follow.

The actors were excellent. The best was Robert Pemberton as Bobby Gould, the just-promoted movie producer who has to decide whether he wants to produce a crowd-pleasing “movie” or a “film” with a moral and ethical message. This dilemma is presented to him on the one side by his long-term friend and associate Charlie Fox (very well played by Gabriel Kutner), who brings him a sure-fire script for a prison movie, complete with a popular actor. The argument for art and morality is presented by Bobby’s temporary secretary, Karen (beautifully played by Aimee Doherty). Karen urges Bobby to forego the materialistic prison movie and to make a film from a “courtesy read” book that he asked her to review (with the ultimate hope of bedding her). The three characters regularly read from the book, which is about radiation and the end of the world, to underscore the points they are making. But regardless of whether it is Karen reading with awe and passion, or Charlie reading the book with derision, one thing is clear: the book is puerile and would make a terrible, terrible movie.

The writing is taut and fast paced and the actors do it justice. Although Kutner (Charlie) was a bit hesitant in the first few scenes, he caught his stride by the middle of the play and finished it with a dynamic and memorable performance. Doherty (Karen) was perfect for the role of a seemingly naïve young woman, who is ultimately as shallow and ambition-driven as everyone else. The most performance was Pemberton’s. He fully inhabited the role of Bobby, a man who was alternately motivated by power and lust. He gave a nuanced performance allowing the character to be forceful, funny or passionate, as the scene demanded. Pemberton was on stage for the entire performance and despite the strength of the other actors, it was hard to take your eyes off him.

“Speed-the-Plow” is playing at New Rep through November 7th. It would be a mistake to miss this one.

K.Poverman, New Rep reviewer