Theater: Ethel Barrymore / 243 West 47th Street, New York, NY, 10036
Synopsis:
November, a political play by David Mamet, who wrote the screenplay for Wag the Dog, is set in the month notable for elections as well as presidential pardons of Thanksgiving turkeys.
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January 18, 2008: You may have been wondering just how all those gagmeisters who make their livings contributing jokes to television talk show monologues and sketch reviews have been occupying their time during the long-lived writers’ strike. Well, one possibility would be that they have been funneling their one-liners — and not always their best ones — directly to David Mamet.
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Take away the gleeful dirty talk and sneak a peak under the exuberantly shameless scams and ... or, on second thought, don't do that. Without the cavalcade of forbidden words and a lingering hope of subversive surprise, there is almost nothing that would identify November as the work of David Mamet.
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This is, after all, a David Mamet play, so we shouldn't be shocked by President Smith's potty mouth, or his general harshness in speaking to and about others. What may surprise some fans is how breezy and ultimately tame this satire is." & "Mamet's punch-line-packed script is zestfully directed by Joe Mantello and served by a first-rate cast. Lane's timing and expressions are impeccable, whether Smith is having a fit or suppressing a smirk. Laurie Metcalf and Dylan Baker match and enhance the leading man's witty efficiency as the speechwriter and chief of staff.
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As much as Mamet's work, it's also "The Nathan Lane Show," providing the actor with his best comic showcase since The Producers. As widely despised president Charles H.P. Smith, Lane keeps the comedy buoyant with his high-energy turn, balancing unapologetic brashness and boldfaced shysterism with a deluded sense of his own martyrdom.
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It's called November but this shrill and high-decibel comedy directed by Joe Mantello could have easily been called "The Wild, Wild West Wing." & "In the past Mamet's work has been incisive, powerful and realistic. Here he goes for an easy, well-worn target and obvious setup: America's highest office is held by a low-life thug... It's so broad that November is a satire with a big mouth but no bite.
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With a masterly sleight of hand, Nathan Lane turns slightness into giddy fun." & "There's not much to November, but it's certainly not the cruelest month. Actually, it's empty-headed political fun, "Saturday Night Live" at its liveliest.
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No playwright curses so well as David Mamet. No actor clowns so well as Nathan Lane. No director is more trusted nowadays than Joe Mantello. And no single producer is producing as as many shows on Broadway nowadays as Jeffrey Richards. So November, David Mamet's first play to ever open cold on Broadway, should seem like pretty exciting stuff. And while it's still an uneven, half-baked play, it's also a good deal of fun.
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Nathan Lane gives a masterful performance in David Mamet's crowd-pleasing comedy about Presidential politics.
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