Political satire ‘November’ opens run at Las Vegas Little Theatre

Tis the season.

No, not that one.

Before we celebrate a jolly holiday, we must weather the seemingly endless campaign season - which means the time is ripe for "November."

Playwright David Mamet's snarky satire of presidential politics opens a six-performance run tonight in the Las Vegas Little Theatre Studio.

And the production - presented by LVLT in association with Poor Richard's Players - couldn't be more appropriate this election season, according to director Lysander Abadia , artistic director of Poor Richard's Players.

After all, with the upcoming Republican and Democratic conventions, followed by the fall campaign and election, "the themes and concerns and plot of the play are on everyone's mind."

And while "November" was written during the waning days of George W. Bush's presidency, the play itself emerges as an "equal-opportunity offender," Abadia notes.

"November" opened on Broadway in early 2008; the timing led many observers to identify the play's President Charles P. Smith (played by Benjamin Loewy , Poor Richard's executive director) as a Bush stand-in.

Yet the play's scathing humor "applies to any president or politician," Abadia maintains.

Especially when "November" addresses include such hot-button topics as campaign financing, gay marriage and "using corporations as people," the director points out.

"It's really fun to see how a play has been so prescient," Abadia says. "It's either scary or wonderful, depending on your point of view."

Set in the Oval Office (and performed in the round), "November" depicts a day in the life of the cheerfully corrupt commander in chief, whose approval ratings are "lower than Gandhi's cholesterol," as chief of staff Archer Brown (played by Cory Goble ) informs him.

"What is it about me people don't like?" President Smith asks Archer.

"That you're still here," the adviser replies.

Clearly, President Smith's re-election prospects could hardly be less promising, which gets the chief executive to thinking,

"Couldn't we make it rain or something, just to keep the other guys from voting? The other guys stop voting, the incumbent wins, 'int that the rule? Can't we oh, you know, just make it rain?"

"We don't have that technology," Archer replies.

But they're not the only characters caught up in the political machinations.

There's Smith's lesbian speechwriter, Clarice Bernstein (Kirstin Maki ), who holds a crucial speech hostage - unless and until her reluctant boss agrees to perform a marriage ceremony for her and her partner.

But Smith's got other people to see (and, he hopes, shake down for some scarce campaign cash), including a Representative of the National Association of Turkey and Turkey By-products Manufacturers - accompanied by two Thanksgiving turkeys that need pardoning - and an aggrieved American Indian chief. (Thomas Chrastka plays both roles.)

Clearly, the president in "November" "is hugely offensive," Abadia admits.

Then again, so is the play's language.

"This is definitely an adults-only play," according to the director - not because of any graphic sex or violence, he adds, but because "there are F-bombs everywhere."

Audiences should expect no less from a David Mamet play.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer behind such stage classics as "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "Speed-the-Plow" (not to mention Oscar-nominated screenplays for "The Verdict" and another biting political satire, 1997's "Wag the Dog") creates dialogue that captures "the ways humans actually speak," Abadia explains - four-letter words included.

"Mamet has found a way to write natural human speech and make it poetic," he says. "Whether it's a pause here or an ellipsis there, you follow his guidelines and trust Mamet - and the music comes out naturally."

This "November" represents the second partnership between LVLT and Poor Richard's; the two troupes teamed up last year for the irreverent "The Bible: The Complete Word of God (Abridged)."

In the past few years, LVLT - one of Las Vegas' longest-running theater companies - has been "reaching out to other companies to foster more work," according to Abadia, not only with LVLT's annual Fringe Festival but partnerships such as this one.

"We're very thankful" for LVLT's support, he says, noting that the host theater is providing not only the venue and royalties for the play but also is handling ticketing and marketing, which is "a huge bonus," the director says.

When it comes to what's on the tiny LVLT Studio stage, however, "then it's our job."

Contact reporter Carol Cling at
ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272.