RACE Reviews- Page 2

[bjh2114]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 10:45pm

Even though Osage had a long run, it was on TDF quite often.
Well, it was playing at a large house for a play during the first half of its run. And some would say it was on TDF often BECAUSE the run was so long. The long run was a result of an interest in seeing the show.

Doubt had a subject matter than titillated & sex or the thought of it always sell.
Pardon? Was that in English?

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 10:50pm

Few costumes have ever touched the sexiness of Cherry Jones's garb for Sister Aloysius, if we're being honest here, bjh. Don't hide it...we all felt it too.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 10:52pm

^Haha, that made my day.

Back to the reviews. Newsday is Negative (with praise for Grier and Spader):

"'Do you know what you can say to a black man on the subject of race?" the black attorney asks the rich white defendant. "Nothing," answers the accused, perhaps convinced, but maybe not.

Whether David Mamet is himself convinced, well, we never know. The more troubling question is whether, ultimately, we end up caring what he thinks in "Race," the attractively cast, surprisingly stale new play that tries to draw blood by picking at old scabs with a blunt instrument.

The subject, race, could not be more timely. And yet the confrontations have the urgency of pigtail-pulling provocations in the schoolyard. Are we really meant to be shocked to hear that trials are entertainment or that people of different colors get different treatment? The generalizations - blacks have shame, Jews have guilt - are as inflammatory as a routine by Jackie Mason. The real shock of this "Race" is that Mamet cannot take them and run.

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/theater/review-david-mamet-returns-to-form-in-race-then-trips-up-1.1640426

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 10:52pm

Thank you.

The nuns I had in elementary school reminded me of Herman Goering.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 10:54pm

TheaterMania is positive with another rave for Spader:

"A rich, white man is accused of raping a younger, African-American woman. His lawyers -- one white, two black -- not only debate whether or not they should take the case, but confront their own biases and assumptions about race relations in writer/director David Mamet's engrossing new play, Race, now at Broadway's Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The play takes awhile to heat up, but once it does, it becomes thrillingly explosive.

...

Spader is pitch-perfect as a self-assured man who feels confident enough in his understanding of racial dynamics to be able to make some rather questionable pronouncements in the presence of his African-American co-workers. Washington presents a nuanced performance that relies heavily on the non-verbal, while Grier makes the most of an underwritten role. Both he and Spader demonstrate a firm grasp of the rhythms within Mamet's own brand of lyrical yet gritty verbiage. Washington is only partially successful in this regard, while Thomas seems overly conscious in his use of pauses.

..."
Review

[bjh2114]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 11:02pm

NY Mag is a brutal PAN! Not a good day for Mamet. Oleanna closes and Race opens to mostly negative reviews. This is the worst one so far:

"We open with an O.J. joke—an early indicator of the mid-nineties mindset that informs Race, David Mamet’s fleet, fidgety, focused little Sudoku of a “shock” drama. The facts of the case are these: A wealthy white man, Strickland (Richard Thomas), is accused of raping a younger black woman; he seeks counsel, and perhaps a measure of absolution, at a law firm captained by senior partners Lawson (James Spader, white) and Brown (David Alan Grier, brown). Assisting them is lovely, leggy, leery Susan (Kerry Washington), who is also brown but, suspiciously, lacks a highly symbolic surname—and may or may not have been a (gasp!) affirmative-action hire. (Cherchez la femme, Mamet fans.)"

http://nymag.com/arts/theater/62531/

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 11:13pm

Only in the declining era of Mamet's abilities could a review that contains a line calling his characters "whores" for his ideas be considered a rave.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 12/6/09 at 11:23pm

John Simon is a Rave (4 stars out of 4):

"Mamet, who also directs, has assembled four talented actors -- James Spader, David Alan Grier, Kerry Washington, Richard Thomas -- and a top-notch design team. We get a high-voltage melodrama that is unafraid to raise painful questions while dispensing prickly ideas and provocative dialogue amid steady suspense.

Just as in “Oleanna,” Mamet latches on to a controversial issue, in this case the problem of race as it has affected American politics, jurisprudence, sexual relations and life in general. He has boldly asserted that our 230-year national experience has been a dialogue about race and that the theme of his new play is “race and the lies we tell each other on the subject.”"

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=az3t.mcL4EXo

[bjh2114]

Posted: 12/7/09 at 9:18am

Ouch. NY Post is very negative (1 1/2 stars out of 4):

"The most stunning thing about the David Mamet play that opened last night is how clunky it is.

The man's written books about drama and filmmaking, so you'd think his missile against a hot-button issue would at least be well put together. But "Race," which Mamet also directed, is a bewildering muddle. Audiences might expect this type of awkwardly constructed, flailing acrimony from a 15-year-old with a Twitter account, not from a Pulitzer Prize winner."

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/reviews/no_winner_in_race_D8xYC0dU0DypH9J4BmvJ3L

[bjh2114]

Posted: 12/7/09 at 9:22am

NY1 is Negative with small praise for the two male leads:

http://ny1.com/1-all-boroughs-news-content/ny1_living/theater_reviews/

[MimiJudith]

Posted: 12/7/09 at 9:43am

I can't believe the reviews didn't mention how horrid Kerry Washington was in this play.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 12/7/09 at 12:26pm

So...how many critics screamed misogyny? Looks like a good majority.

Interesting how there was really no middle-ground here...either positive or negative reviews mostly.

[jasonk]

Posted: 12/7/09 at 1:24pm

I thought Kerry Washington was great. As great as you can be with Mamet's horrible misogynistic writing and direction. Richard Thomas was the weak link for me. Spader was fantastic and Grier was very funny.

[MimiJudith]

Posted: 12/7/09 at 1:26pm

Yikes, I thought Kerry Washington was absolutely awful.

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 12/7/09 at 1:27pm

These reviews are pretty on target. Mamet says a lot, but never really makes a point with any of it. And Kerry Washingotn is horrendous.

[jasonk]

Posted: 12/7/09 at 1:40pm

When did you see it? I saw it last night and she was pretty great. There is nothing for her to do in the first act really but that is the writing. She was fantastic in the long scenes with Spader alone and in the final scene. Maybe she was worse in previews? Spader is by far the best though. Loved him. But it's kind of written to be a one man show.

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 12/7/09 at 2:10pm

Washington couldn't even walk without looking awkward, let alone deliver her lines in the right cadence.

[TalkinLoud]

Posted: 12/7/09 at 4:27pm

I saw it Tuesday night.

[Morgaine885]

Posted: 12/8/09 at 4:05pm

Spader was awesome...I hope he's considered come awards season.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 10:55am

I saw the show Tuesday night and was skeptical after reading the reviews but I was in fact just blown away by it. I guess in the past few weeks they've all gotten very comfortable with the material because there wasn't a false not on that stage including Kerry Washington who to me, was fascinating and really, just brilliant. My friend who went with me told me she had seen the show before and did not care too much for Washington but afterwards said how much she had improved which made me very happy since I'm a big fan of hers.

I'm going to be seeing this a few more times because to me it did what a good Mamet play does best, it evokes a lot of thought afterwards and the need to talk about what you've just seen, to dissect it and search for answers to questions you know you'll never get.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 11:06am

I saw this show Saturday night and wasn't blown away. I wanted to love it, and I wanted to be enthralled...but it left me a bit cold and unsatisfied. The ending seemed to need more....but I felt that each time the curtain fell there was something missing.

I applaud the acting of both Spader and Grier, but was less than impressed with Thomas and Washington.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/28/09 at 11:14am

I saw the invited dress, and then went again a few days ago. Kerry Washington got a lot better, and I still think the play is quite good, and definitely one of Mamet's best.