The David Mamet play Race, in its final stretch on Broadway, is one of the most real productions I’ve seen in a long time. Starring actors Kerry Washington (Ray), David Alan Grier (“In Living Color”) and James Spader (“Boston Legal”), the actors say the things you want to say, but dare not in mixed company. Some of the cringe inducing lines make you wonder, “Can they really say that on stage?”
The play takes a shockingly raw look at the perceptions and motives of blacks and whites and leaves its audience with more questions than answers about their own feelings on the subjects. The actors intentionally push every button that political correctness won’t allow and it leaves you squirming in your seat. “I’m gonna f*** you N-word b****,” for example, is one line delivered in the production that drew gasps from the theatregoers — and there was more from where that came from.
Race is centered on a wealthy, married white man (Richard Thomas as Charles Strickland) who’s being tried for allegedly raping a poor black woman with whom he had an ongoing relationship prior to the accusations. He claimed it was consensual and only shame drove her to falsely accuse him. He took his case to law firm Brown and Lawson, where the play was set, for legal counsel.
Washington plays a talented legal secretary, Susan, who works for the partners (Grier as Henry Brown and Spader as Jack Lawson) of Brown and Lawson. She was hired despite it being known that she lied on her employment application. Along with dealing with whether race played a role in the alleged rape, it was hotly debated whether or not Washington’s character was an affirmative action charity case or one given a hand up because she was truly smart and deserved the position despite her lie. Grier’s character feels the former, while Spader’s, who made the hiring decision, claims the latter. Her presence was called into question when critical information about the rape case was thought to have been leaked to the prosecution by Susan out of a sense of duty to the black “victim.” It gets hot at the firm, to say the least.
Race is playing at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre and ends in just a few weeks. Check it out, but leave the kids at home, because the dialogue will cause your jaw to hit the floor on several occasions. –gerald radford
