Imagine if you could peer inside the oval office of the White House and see the antics of a failed president at the end of his term, his closest advisor, a conflicted speech writer, a potentially lucrative lobbyist (of sorts) and an angry constituent.
Now imagine all this without the customary propriety the pundits of Washington practice when caught in front of the media cameras and you have merely touched upon the frosting of David Mamet's “November” currently playing at the Pennsylvania Playhouse.
The talent of Mamet is his ability to make his play feel like a “sitcom” before he shifts seamlessly to a tone as biting and barbarous as his more powerful works like “Glengarry Glen Ross.” Everyone in this play wants something – and everyone is willing to do what it takes to achieve their individual goal (as so many of us content with at times). Mamet has a gift of putting each character on stage in a position where at one or more points in the play they are symbolically (or literally) with their back against the wall with no chance of escape and – through the author's deft writing – finds a way of escape that is both effortless and cunning.
It's just a shame that more time wasn't invested in making the majority of his play more effortless and cunning instead of formulaic with a tired sketch comedy format of “set-up joke, deliver joke and repeat.” At times it almost feels as if Neil Simon and David Mamet were drunk in a bar one night and Simon had dared Mamet to write a comedy. And I'm still not sure after watching “November” if Mr. Mamet would have won that bet.
That isn't to say that there aren't amusing moments in the show. While the production does lack energy at times other moments the action on stage barrels along at an enjoyable clip.
The production is led by Pat Kelly as failed president Charles Smith – at the end of his first four-year term and soon to be ousted by the “republic for which it stands” which cannot stand him as their leader anymore. The character is, unfortunately, poorly drawn by Mamet – almost never having a true motivation. Smith shifts direction like a weather vane in a tornado and it becomes disconcerting as you try to find a moment where you can find likeability in the character. Yes, he's supposed to be an opportunistic jerk but it would have been helpful if Mr. Mamet had ever given us the chance to “like” this opportunistic jerk.
When we are first introduced to President Smith in his oval office he wants nothing more than to leave his failed term in office with the shirt on his back as well as a few million dollars and the promise of a library named after him. To President Smith, this seems like a meager comeuppance after four years of incompetence, greed and lies.
With any prospect of winning the election gone the president discusses his prospects with his trusted legal advisor Archer, portrayed by Eric D. Hersh. Archer wants nothing more than for the president to leave with his dignity while the president wants to leave behind a legacy he can be remembered for – even though he has done nothing memorable in his four years in office.
All this is compounded by the arrival of a “Turkey Guy” played by Joe Klucsarits who, ironically, is only interested in giving the president the bird. That is, he needs to introduce the president to the Thanksgiving turkey the president will pardon so the fowl bird can sniff the hand of the foul president so that the bird will not be scared on camera.
Finally (at the last minute) when the president realizes the power he may actually wield and believes he might have a chance of winning the upcoming election he shifts focus (again) towards this new goal. How is it possible that the leader of the free world can wait until the last minute to decide to win an election days away when every poll has him losing terribly' According to Mr. Mamet – it's as easy as having a brilliant speech writer – and in “November” this salvation comes in the form of Clarice Bernstein played by Laura Sweeney Riker. She, allegedly, has a gift of prose that would make Shakespeare question his talent and is able to write speeches that can make or break a candidate.
The problem is that she will not write anything – short of the president's concession speech – unless he promises to do something he unfortunately cannot do as dictated by the laws of this country circa 2008. This creates a driving force in the second half of the show and while interesting in the way it becomes a maneuvering point it also becomes repetitive (and a bit whiney) at times.
As the cameras and turkeys await the president in the media room, and in the midst of a whirlwind of lies and broken promises moments before the president is set to deliver the “greatest speech of his career” the oval office is literally invade by Chief Dwight Grackle (Jerry Brucker) who had been insulted by the president during an earlier phone conversation and has journeyed to the White House to extract revenge. Of course, the Secret Service is nowhere to be seen to stop this intrusion (and threat to the leader of the free world) but it all wraps up into an amusing, albeit unbelievable, ending.
The script itself is not the greatest work David Mamet has written. The characters appear at times as two-dimensional caricatures although, and perhaps as a testament to Mr. Mamet's other works, they are far more interesting during dramatic turns than when they are trying to be amusing. The show is entertaining but not quite as engaging as one would hope. As reviewer Ben Brantley wrote in his 2008 New York Times review of the original production “'November' is a David Mamet play for people who don’t like David Mamet. Being a long-time Mamet devotee, I cannot say I see this as a cause for rejoicing.”
I cannot help but agree with Mr. Brantley – but that is not to say that “November” is not without merit. What would otherwise be sketch comedy dialogue is enhanced by David Mamet's gift for writing quick, overlapping conversations (referred to as “Mamet Speak”) and the cast handles this unique form of stage dialogue well.
Pacing does become an issue at times and there are moments when conversations are punctuated by pauses when it seemed the dialogue may have worked better had it been done faster and with a bit more rapid-fire delivery. Ralph Montesano's direction tries to make some of the flat material feel a bit more effervescent and he does succeed – and although this is billed as a comedy the more serious and dramatic moments are better than the humorous ones.
The set and lights beautifully convey a feeling of being in the oval office of the White House and helps to excuse some of the flaws in the script as the cast utilizes the space to enhance the feeling that they are playing within the most powerful office in the world.
“November” has obviously had a lot of attention and effort put into it by the cast and crew at the Pennsylvania Playhouse. It may still be early for people to be thinking about turkeys and elections but if stores can put Christmas trees up in August then audiences will be able to enjoy a play about Thanksgiving in early autumn.
“November” is currently playing at the Pennsylvania Playhouse through October 11. Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 3 pm. For tickets call 610-865-6665 or visit www.paplayhouse.org