DAVID Mamet‘s new Broadway play “Race” is shrouded in as much secrecy as the Vatican is when the cardinals gather to choose a new pope.
Potential backers aren’t permitted to read the script — they’re simply expected to throw their money at “the new Mamet” because it is, well, “the new Mamet.”
Designers working on “Race” have been told not to let the script out of their sight. And the cast members — Richard Thomas, James Spader, Kerry Washington — have been instructed not to disclose any plot details in interviews.
“I don’t know how much I’m allowed to say outside of it being a brand-new play from David Mamet,” Washington said recently. “But it’s interesting.”
Whenever he’s asked about the play, producer Jeffrey Richards generally responds with: “The title speaks for itself.”
Says a production source: “Jeffrey’s paranoid the script will get around. But he’s an old press agent. He knows you can hype something up by keeping it a Big Secret.”
But wait. What’s this? An envelope has landed on my desk. Scrawled across it in handwriting I do not recognize are the words: “For Your F – – – in’ Eyes Only!”
I open it up and — Habemus Mamet! — we have the new Mamet!
It’s not my place to review “Race,” of course; I’ll leave that to The Post’s capable theater critic Elisabeth Vincentelli, who’ll have a go at the play when it opens Dec. 6 at the Ethel Barrymore.
But I’m happy to provide some “top secret” plot details, although I certainly won’t give away any
Mamet-ian twists.
“Race” is strikingly similar to “Speed-the-Plow.”
“Plow” is about two smarmy Hollywood producers and a secretary who may or may not be trustworthy; “Race” is about two smarmy lawyers, one white (Spader), the other black (still to be cast, I think), and a female legal assistant (Washington) who may or may not be trustworthy.
In both cases, the plot turns on the young woman’s hidden agenda.
One wag calls the new play ” ‘Speed-the-Plow’ in blackface.”
In “Race,” the two lawyers debate whether to take the case of a rich white man (Thomas) who’s been accused of raping a black woman.
“Race” is probably not as explosive as its backers think it is. But Mamet does tackle racial issues with a healthy dose of political incorrectness — and a lot of profanity, which I cannot quote in a family newspaper.
He also zings the legal profession, mocking trials and juries in the same vein as the musical “Chicago.”
Indeed, there’s a nicely cynical speech about a jury being like an audience that will remind you of John Kander and Fred Ebb’s song “Razzle Dazzle.”
The roles in “Race” are juicy, so you can expect some fireworks from the performers, especially Spader. He knows this territory well from his stint on TV’s “Boston Legal.”
Mamet’s directing will no doubt add some production wallops to an already punchy script.
“Race” is definitely a contender.