IN 1992, when David Mamet wrote “Oleanna,” America was embroiled in a di visive culture war. Nowhere was the battle around political correctness more deeply fought than on campuses — which is where Mamet set his two-hander.
But watching the play 17 years later is like watching something made during the Red Scare of the ’50s. “Oleanna” speaks volumes not only about an era dominated by the shared paranoia of conservatives and lefty activists, but also about its creator’s id. And what surged from Mamet’s brain is the closest Broadway now has to a slasher movie.
At the time, most saw the story of the ugly battle between Carol (Julia Stiles) and her professor, John (Bill Pullman), as a savage critique of PC fundamentalism. Over three short acts and a taut 90 minutes, the relationship between student and teacher disintegrates to the point of sexual-harassment allegations and violence.
Stiles — raw and intense, her mouth compressed into a grim line — barely reins in what you suspect are pools of anger. Carol turns into destruction personified. And she keeps coming back, each time crazier and more aggressive than before. She’s like Jason in “Friday the 13th.”
But John isn’t your typical good guy done wrong. Under Doug Hughes’ direction, Pullman doesn’t sweeten his character. The tenure-track John is so overly wrapped up in his ego and personal issues — he keeps interrupting Carol to take phone calls — that he doesn’t listen.
He’ll pay the price. And yet it’s as hard to feel empathy for him as it is to feel sorry for the teenagers who keep doing stupid things when they know a killer’s on the loose.
Removed from its original context, “Oleanna” is more about the Kafka-esque violence that can spring from neglected responsibilities and a total breakdown in communication.
Mamet, usually uninterested in his characters’ back story and motivation, drops a few clues. One is that something big happened to Carol, but just as she’s about to reveal it, John mindlessly interrupts her once again.
As for him, he has status, a family and friends, but still can’t connect. Every time he picks up the phone, John opens with “I can’t talk now.”
The play certainly has its problems — the incessant calls are increasingly contrived, for instance. But at its best, “Oleanna” shows what happens when parallel lines are on a collision course.