November

Ethel Barrymore Theater
by David Mamet

Ugh.

All the components were there: David Mamet for writing, Scott Pask for sets, Nathan Lane for acting and I think a famous and good director to boot. But, ugh. Typically if you cook with good ingredients you can’t go wrong.

Oh, but you can. Weeks later I’m still wondering, “Why? Oh, why?” And, you know, I definitely don’t care enough to even try to figure it out. The point of the whole show was mysterious. The timing may have been the greatest unknown of all. This show would have been relevant four years ago before someone (who?) re-elected Bush for a second term. But, now at the end, when we’re finally rid of him (just a little bit longer) this appears. There’s no lesson now that we can take from it.

November has two very important American events: Election Day and Thanksgiving. There is an attempt to cover both sacred American holidays in the play. Both are integral to our understanding of the U.S. And, both are tromped on a bit here.

Lane’s character starts excluding people as true Americans throughout the show. And, while you are half-laughing at the racist jokes you realize that it’s only a short matter of time before he gets to your group. By the time he’s finished no one has the right to celebrate Thanksgiving as a true American.

I was tired, but I almost fell asleep. With Nathan Lane on the stage? Is this even possible? I sadly answer, yes, it’s possible. If you cast Lane you have to cast him accurately, realizing that it’s nearly impossible to turn him down a notch. I saw him in Forum many years ago now. And, he was brilliant and fun. It was a good fit.

This wasn’t a good fit. It was played as farce, while it may have been hilarious if it had been played tongue-in-cheek. It may have needed a stage-size towel to dry it down.

I definitely don’t recommend it. I don’t recommend it for Mamet fans or Lane fans or anyone who likes theater at all. As the only plus, the crazy people who kept poking me left half way through the first act. This was an extra plus because we were sitting in what felt like child-size seats and I could actually take up a normal person’s space. I would have left, too, but I have a rule that you can’t decide about something until you’ve seen the whole thing. And, my opinion was cemented in the last five minutes when the play finally reached the zenith of absurd.