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What a prescient choice the Hampton Theatre Company made when they chose “November” for their fall production in this election cycle! Who knew that in real life we would have the same kind of flim-flam man dominating the news as his fictional counterpart in David Mamet’s wonderfully un-PC satire set in the Oval Office?
Consider this exchange between the Mamet character, the incumbent President Charles H.P. Smith, and his chief of staff, Archer Brown, when he suggests building a wall to keep out illegal immigrants:
Mr. Brown: “We can’t build the fence to keep out the illegal immigrants. …”
President Smith: “Why not?”
Mr. Brown: “We need the illegal immigrants to build the fence.”
So begins the second act. The script adheres to no particular president or party. The conniver-in-chief desperately seeking reelection on stage stands in for all political stripes, for Mamet reminds us of political missteps and scheming of multiple presidents, from Nixon to, well, you fill in the blanks.
As Diana Marbury, who directed this timely gem, introduced the play and the 32nd season of the Hampton Theatre Company, she warned the audience that there’s something in it for everyone to be offended.
There’s the offstage First Lady who sees the end coming and wants to know if she can take the couch in the Oval Office.
There’s the straight man—actually a lesbian here—speechwriter who’s just come back with a baby from China, where the country sells “the fruit of their wombs” for $25,000. No, wait, that’s for administrative fees—not the baby!
Getting the First Lady off the phone leads to a news story about Iran launching a nuclear strike against Israel. What’s the problem? “You people got along without a country for 2,000 years.”
As for lying, President Smith asks: “Who’s to say what’s perjury?”
If that zaniness, worthy of stand-up comedy, isn’t enough, the plot line soon devolves into a nutty verbal farce around squeezing the representative of the national turkey manufacturers to come up with $2 million before his two turkeys get their annual “pardon,” and Thanksgiving is celebrated by chowing down on all those who aren’t so fortunate. Without the cash, President Smith just might pardon all the millions of turkeys in the United States, thus giving pork—or maybe, cod—producers a windfall. What did the pilgrims eat for their first Thanksgiving anyway?
President Smith is cash poor. His party has deserted him, as his poll numbers rival “Gandhi’s cholesterol numbers.” A Native American chief in appropriate headgear storms in wanting 4,000 acres on Nantucket for a casino before he hands over his moolah. His earnestly liberal speechwriter wants the president to officiate her wedding on national television—before the turkey pardoning.
Don’t expect Mamet, one of a handful of America’s most celebrated playwrights, to deliver some profound message or sermon as he has many times elsewhere; here, he’s merely baring the absurdist stew of many a political campaign, and with a rich soupçon of irony.
Which is precisely why “November” is such fun right now, just as his “Wag the Dog,” for which he shared screenwriting credits, was, in 1998. If Donald Trump weren’t writing his own best lines, one might think that Mamet had stepped in as his scriptwriter.
HTC regular Andrew Botsford, as President Smith, is at his comedic best here, throwing off his one-liners with brash aplomb and so much candid venality that you almost love him. Matthew Conlon is the chief of staff, Archer Brown; Rebecca Edana is the sincere speechwriter, Clarice Bernstein; Matthew O’Connor is the turkey lobbyist; and Rob Byrnes is the demanding and ridiculous Chief Dwight Grackle.
Together, they put on one hell of a show, cavorting through the pointed script and punching it for all its humor. Opening night, they were rewarded with a richly deserved standing ovation.
When the play premiered on Broadway in 2008, it was the early stages of the primary season, and an unpopular George W. Bush was in the Oval Office. With sliding popularity numbers. “November” lasted only about six months on Broadway.
But today, in the Hamptons, it is the welcome antidote to the wall-to-wall political coverage of a campaign that is hard to believe and exhausting pretty much everybody who is paying attention, as I am. The staging at the Quogue Community Hall ends November 6, two days before the election.
I exited laughing. You will too.
“November” continues at Quogue Community Hall, 125 Jessup Avenue, Quogue, with showtimes Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. There will be an additional 2:30 p.m. matinée on Saturday, November 5. Regular admission is $30. Seniors 65 and older pay $25, except on Saturdays. For those younger than 35, admission is $15, or $10 for students under 21 with ID. For tickets, call 1-866-811-4111 or visit hamptontheatre.org.
on Oct 21, 2016