Susan Granger’s review of “Race” (Ethel Barrymore Theater: ’09-’10 season)
David Mamet has explored many four-letter words but none as incendiary as “race.”
The drama unfolds in an imposingManhattan law office, where the two partners, Jack Lawson (James Spader) and Henry Brown (David Alan Grier) – with their young associate, Susan (Kerry Washington), hovering uneasily in the background – are deciding whether to take the case of an affluent, middle-aged man, Charles Strickland (Richard Thomas), who is accused of raping a younger woman in a hotel room after ripping a red sequin dress off her. While Strickland admits he was in the hotel room, he insists what happened between them was consensual because they were lovers.
But “This isn’t about sex; it’s about race.” Because one of the attorneys is white, the other black; their ambitious intern is black; and the alleged victim is black. And almost all the contentious verbal banter is open to misunderstanding and interpretation as it relates to color, gender, ethnicity and class.
Accessing his well-honed “Boston Legal” stance, James Spader exemplifies the authoritative, world-weary cynic, while wary David Alan Grier is more cautious of the ramifications of the justice system and clueless Richard Thomas is obviously conflicted. Kerry Washington is – and must be – enigmatic for the plot to work but her furtive demeanor, coupled with her contrived model’s stance, is distracting, somewhat telegraphing her part in the conclusion in a way that diffuses some of the tension.
Pulitzer Prize-winning writer/director David Mamet (“Oleanna,” “Speed-the-Plow”) radiates persuasive intelligence in this compelling legal procedural as he rails against political correctness, amplifying our culture’s concepts of shame and guilt while peppering the dialogue with profanity. Santo Loquasto’s book-lined set is splendid, as are Tom Broecker’s costumes.