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Mamet’s Race Stirs Audiences
All-Star cast joins writer/director legend
(From left) James Spader, David Allen Grier and Richard Thomas
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David Mamet’s Race opened at the Ethyl Barrymore Theatre shrouded in secrecy. The latest offering from one of the theater world’s most exciting and controversial playwrights lured potential investors and audiences alike on the promise of its all-star cast, the talent of Mamet, and the likely incendiary nature of the play. Since opening on December 6, Race has proven that the reality behind the mystery is every bit as appealing.
The play involves a team of lawyers, one black, one white (played by David Allen Grier and James Spader) wrestling with whether or not to take the case of a rich white man (Richard Thomas) accused of raping a black woman. Along for the ride in the decision-making process is a female legal assistant (Kerry Washington) who, like many of Mamet’s female leads, has a more shrewd understanding of the situation at hand than first believed. Race certainly lives up to the content that its title implies—it is a pointed, intense examination of Race relations in the modern age. Mamet, so famous for his no holds barred take on everything from sexism to academia to show business, handles the tricky subject of Race with a deft hand.
Also paramount in this exploration is the cast that has been winning rave reviews for their portrayals of the all-too human characters. James Spader is spot-on in his portrayal of a smarmy lawyer, ground that he has treaded in his work on television’s Boston Legal for which he was nominated for an Emmy three times. David Allen Grier, perhaps most famous for his comedic roles (Jumanji, In Living Color) is riveting as Spader’s counterpart, his Yale Drama roots showing through. Kerry Washington’s performances for the cultural arts have been mainly relegated to the movies (Ray, The Last King of Scotland), but she is as layered a Mamet heroine as any. Richard Thomas, best known as John Boy in television’s The Waltons, is a studied Broadway veteran with over 50 years of experience on the Great White Way.
Race will be performed at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (located at 243 West 47th St.). To purchase tickets or for more information, please visit www.Raceonbroadway.com.