"Race" Bold, Troubling
The topic of New Rep’s newest show, “Race,” is a timely and
sensitive one, and the brash chutzpah of David Mamet’s script is matched by the
boldness and vigor of the production. Kudos
to the actors for heartfelt performances, and to New Rep for taking the risk of
a controversial script.
Racial oppression is deeply entangled with this country’s
history and our current social, economic, and political systems. Mamet’s New
York Times letter to “Race”
audiences, re-printed in the show’s program, calls the relationship between
black and white Americans a fraught marriage, where “both sides at different
times are bitching, and both at different times are
bailing, but we’re all in the same boat.”
The boat metaphor works nicely for this show, where the four
characters are all supposed to act as a team (three lawyers and their client),
but there’s plenty of bitching and bailing on all sides. The plot revolves around not only the case (an
accusation of rape, which Mamet completely trivializes), but also around the
intra-office tensions and fault lines (race, sex, age, and varying levels of
bitterness).
The actors deserve commendation for their unflinching
portrayals of some less-than-savory characters.
Cliff Odle (who plays Henry Brown) in particular struck us as the heart
and soul of the show, even though he isn’t as mouthy or emotional as the main
lawyer, Jack Lawson (played by local favorite Ken Cheeseman). Odle’s performance rings with authenticity,
and we got the sense that this character best represents Mamet’s own viewpoints
on the subject of race. (Mamet for
unknown reasons gives all of the characters, including Henry, several odd and out-of-place
moments of ideological preaching; Odle handled these particularly well.)
Ultimately, the show attempts to convince its audience that
race (and sex) lie just below the surface of every social interaction – and on
this point, we (mostly) agree. Yet Mamet
then goes a step further to claim that race is a (or perhaps “the”) central
motivating force in every action that we all take, as jury members, say, or
lawyers, or newspaper-readers, or friends.
The final twist at the end, which attempts to drive home this thesis, is
wildly improbable and downright offensive.
The philosophy about race, as a whole, mixes elements of truth and
insight with noxious ideological non-thought.
Whatever you may think of Mamet’s racial theorizing, the
show will make you think and talk a whole lot about race – and that is a good
thing. Through these discussions, Mamet
promises us, “…we not only seem to be but are
working it out.” As the Jews say, from
his mouth to God’s ears!
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