David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow, Ion Theater's current offering, is the first of three similarly themed works. He satirically revisited Hollywood in the 1997 film, "Wag the Dog" and again in 2000 with "State and Main." This view of filmdom is way over the top, presented for its comedic effect.
Circa 1980s, Bobby and Charlie (Claudio Raygoza and Matt Scott) are mid-level Hollywood producers about to promote a mediocre script to their boss...a script that is meritless but should return a hefty profit. They are hyping each other prior to a script conference.
Director Glenn Paris has brought together accomplished talents who are Ion regulars. Watching these accomplished actors build an artificial excitement, paced just slightly under the speed of light, is exciting. It is a tour de force of hyperbole with elevated highs and only slightly lowered lows. Their animation is vibrant. Even their speech patterns are the same. They are cookie-cutter, stylized, Hollywood film producers. Any resemblance to real people is quite accidental.
Enter Bobby's big-haired temp secretary/receptionist (it's the 80s, folks), Karen (Sara Beth Morgan). Karen is the epitome of naïveté. Bobby gives her a serious script they have no intention of producing, asks her to read it and to come to his apartment to discuss it later on that evening. You and I know just how much
script discussion will take place if he has his way!
Scene Two opens in Bobby's apartment. He plies Karen with vodka while she touts the virtues of the script. Her excitement is electric, while his power to persuade appears not to be working. In a battle of wits, it appears the super-hyped producer is losing to, what we thought was, his less worldly assistant. The lights dim before we know for sure what happens.
In Act Three, as in most three-act plays, the denouement is the happening. All three get to plead their case. It is a battle of wills with, this time, Karen being a key player. This scene is pivotal, extremely dynamic, with each of the three actors performing at peak, with the characters' strengths and weaknesses becoming transparent.
The minimalist set is a large square area with audience on three sides. It is intimate. One feels almost a part of the scene or, at the very least, an interloper.
At 90 fast minutes, Speed-the-Plow is an intense work. Bobby's office is a pressure cooker of emotions and massive overstatement, the fictionalized Hollywood that one expects. Enjoy.
