The Reviews Are In: Mamet is a ‘Sexist’

Last night, David “I’m No Longer a Brain-Dead Liberal” Mamet’s “Oleanna” opened on Broadway.  The production (a transfer from Los Angeles’ Mark Taper Forum) stars Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles.  As discussed on these pages Friday, this play was originally produced off-Broadway 18 years ago and is now receiving its first, official Broadway production. “Oleanna” and the upcoming “Race” are two opportunities for Mr. Mamet’s work to be evaluated by the heavily-left-leaning theatre critics.

The play received quite positive reviews.  Here are some interesting things I read in the reviews…

In Elysa Gardner’s positive review in USA Today, she refers to the contrasting times in which the play is now produced versus the original production:

When David Mamet’s Oleanna premiered in 1992, it was widely perceived as a response to the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in which Thomas was accused of sexual harassment by former assistant Anita Hill.  It has been 18 years since that real-life drama played out. But as the very different controversy now surrounding David Letterman reminds us, the debate over what constitutes an abuse of power between a male authority figure and a female subordinate isn’t going away. (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: anita hill, backstage, ben brantley, bill pullman, broadway
Posted Oct 12th 2009 at 4:34 pm in Featured Story, Politics, Theatre | 24532231 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/sright/2009/10/12/the-reviews-are-in-mamet-is-a-sexist/The+Reviews+Are+In%3A+Mamet+is+a+%27Sexist%272009-10-12+23%3A34%3A05Stage+Right

Top 10 Things for Conservatives to Look for in the Upcoming Broadway Season

Summer is the slow time on Broadway as theatre pros recover from their Tony Award hang-overs and try to rush out to the Island for a few days of R & R before the new season begins.  This year it seems there are a few plays aiming for early fall openings hoping to ride a crest of popularity into the always-lucrative holiday season.

Just as last season brought a record number of plays as well as stellar gross sales (despite doom-sayers in the industry) this season already looks locked and loaded with a huge number of shows scheduled to open between October 1st and the first week of May (the traditional Tony nomination cut-off).  So to help the readers of Big Hollywood plan their trip to the Great White Way (we can still say that, can’t we?), I submit the top 10 things to look for from the center/right perspective:

10.  ”Superior Donuts” – A transfer from Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre (one of my personal favorite regional houses in America), the play stars “Spinal Tap”’s Michael McKean as an aging hippie who owns a donut shop in a largely black neighborhood and Jon Michael Hill (do all young Broadway actors HAVE to go by three names now?) as a 21-year-old from the neighborhood who talks his way into a job at the shop.  From the New York Times review:  ”In one of the play’s most amusing exchanges Franco challenges Arthur to name 10 black poets. Arthur names a few, then stands dumb, a look of deep concentration on his face. “It’s like watching George Bush on ‘Jeopardy!’ ” Franco cracks.” (more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: a steady rain, Ana Gasteyer, anita hill, barrymore, bebe neuwerth
Posted Aug 16th 2009 at 9:14 am in Entertainment, Featured Story, Politics | 20520626 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/sright/2009/08/16/top-10-things-for-conservatives-to-look-for-in-the-upcoming-broadway-season/Top+10+Things+for+Conservatives+to+Look+for+in+the+Upcoming+Broadway+Season2009-08-16+16%3A14%3A15Stage+Right