By Nyiesha Showers
The Broadway production of "Race" brings heat to the Barrymore Theatre. The play’s title could mean many things, from the participants in an unfair presidential campaign to someone running a 100-meter dash; it is a story about the relationship in American culture of Black and White, the seemingly never-ending topic of racism.This controversial story, written and directed by David Mamet, cast the actors for the production, including David Alan Grier, James Spader, Kerry Washington, and Richard Thomas. According to the casting, Grier, known for his involvement in "In Loving Color" assumes the role of Henry, a black lawyer who works alongside Spader, who plays Jack Lawson, and Washington, as Susan, the new legal assistant working for both lawyers.
At the play’s Dec 5 preview, the cast weren't the only celebrities present. In fact, the audience was full of different actors and producers, including Marie Janella from “Everybody Loves Raymond” who was dressed in a comfortable pantsuit and a brown, flowy shawl, Damian, who was casually dressed, Damian Jr., and Kim Wayans, who wore a black wool coat and a gray fedora; fitting in perfectly with the other audience members.
For a play that addressed the issue of race in the American society, it wasn’t an unreasonable expectation for the composition of the audience to be predominantly Black; rather, there were more whites than Blacks who were sparsely located in the theater.
In this presentation of “Race” the director shone the light on the unspoken issue of discrimination and prejudice. The plot surrounds a group of lawyers who takes the case of Richard Thomas, a rich white executive who's accused of raping a black woman. Disagreements between the lawyers about his innocence creates a dissension between Jack and Susan.
Henry believes Thomas is guilty. Grier plays his character smart, giving off the impression that he resents white people. In response to the question do all blacks hate whites, Henry excitedly says “You bet we do.” Despite this, he still keeps his cool while representing the client. The play’s director chose to display Susan more stereotypically; she's just another petite black woman whose beauty could be described as "easy on the eyes". But, controversy rears its head in the law firm when Susan goes behind Jack’s back and requires evidence against their client. Spader does a good job giving conviction as a demanding force over both Henry and especially Susan.
While attention was brought to bear on the touchy issues of racism and discrimination, as the play unfolded, there were moments when the audience was held in suspense, but the absence of a resolution when there was no verdict against Thomas led to an overwhelming sense of disappointment.
The production's downfall has nothing to do with the actors, who did their job delivering a performance. Rather the problem was with the script. The play contained two significant social constructs: Mamet's idea to expose sexism in the workplacee was good, except that he only had execute it better. the entire production could have been great. Second, racism, as the play’s central focus was tackled tastelessly. Listening to the dialogue between the lawyers, one was aware of the liberal use of generalizations and stereotypes of both races.
Despite its shortcomings, the play had a few commendable elements, one such was the revelation that Lawson had investigated Susan before hiring her, a process, which seemed as though taken from an episode of the television show, “Law & Order”.
But, Susan brings the play to its conclusion with a testimonial; she commanded the spotlight on the stage when she said that the reason why Thomas is guilty is "because he's a white man", and which delivery was made with such force and passion that it too could not avoid being stereotypical. What is clear about this play is that the election of a Black president meant nothing to the writer who wrote a piece about hating another because of their race.
Once again, history repeated itself; this time on the stage.
