VULGARITY. HARASSMENT. DECEPTION. ALL IN A DAY'S WORK.
Legendary Chicago playwright David Mamet gives ATC special permission to produce two of his most controversial plays in rotating repertory:
the Mamet Repertory Oleanna & Speed the Plow
Written by David Mamet
Directed by Rick Snyder
With Lance Baker, Darrell W. Cox and Nicole Lowrance
Oleanna New England. 1995. A university professor's tenure dissolves when a student claims sexual harassment.
Speed-the-Plow Hollywood. 1985. Two Hollywood producers hit meltdown when their secretary
turns the tables on their plans to make the next blockbuster.
September 9 - October 24 EXTENDED through October 31!
design bios
The Mamet Repertory designers are Jack Magaw (Scenic Designer),
Jessica Harpenau (Lighting Designer), Kevin O’Donnell (Sound Designer),
Janice Pytel (Costume Designer), and Katie Klemme (Production Stage Manager).
Rick Snyder (Director), a Steppenwolf ensemble member, recently directed Killer Joe and Men of Tortuga at Profiles. He recently directed Art at Steppenwolf, Mauritius at Northlight Theatre, The Lion in Winter at Writers’ Theatre, The Actor at the Goodman Theatre and Aristocrata at Strawdog Theatre. He has also directed Betrayal at Steppenwolf, Jolly and The Disappearance of the Jews at the Goodman, St. Scarlet at ATC, Bus Stop at Writers’ Theatre and Last of the Boys at Steppenwolf. Other directing credits at Steppenwolf include Tavern Story, Things Being What They Are, Orange Flower Water (which traveled to the Galway Arts Festival), and The Fall To Earth. As an actor, Rick recently appeared in August: Osage County and The Unmentionables at Steppenwolf Theatre as well as Man From Nebraska and I Never Sang For My Father. Other Steppenwolf Theatre productions include Wedding Band, Time of Your Life, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest in London and on Broadway, and Sideman in Galway, Ireland. David Copperfield, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Slaughterhouse Five, Molly Sweeney, Picasso At The Lapine Agile, the Tony Award-winning Grapes of Wrath, The Road To Nirvana, and A Walk In The Woods. He has appeared at the Goodman Theatre in As You Like It, Down The Shore and as Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. At Northlight Theatre he appeared in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and The Rear Column. Television credits include Crime Story, First Steps, Lady Blue, Legacy of Lies, The Woman Who Loved Elvis, Overexposed, and guest starring roles on Early Edition, Profiler, Chicago Hope, Angel Street, The Untouchables, Missing Persons, and Mind Of The Married Man. Rick has appeared in the films Meet The Applegates, The Tuskegee Airmen, Alien Nation Millenium, The Net starring Sandra Bullock, Whiteboys, and Soul Survivors. He appeared as agent Frank Burrows in
U.S. Marshals and recently appeared in The Human Stain. Rick has taught acting classes at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN, as well as advanced acting class at Northwestern University and DePaul. He currently
teaches Directing 1 at Columbia College in Chicago. Rick has been a member of the Steppenwolf ensemble since 1983, and an instructor for The School at Steppenwolf and Associate Artist at Steppenwolf for the last ten years.
cast bios
Darrell W. Cox (John and Bobby Gould) is an ensemble member and
Associate Artistic Director of Profiles Theatre. He was most recently
seen as Joe Cooper in Profiles award-winning production of "Killer
Joe" directed by Rick Snyder, for which he received his fourth Jeff
Award for Principal Actor. He returns to ATC having first appeared in
the Chicago Premiere of Leigh Fondakowski's "The People’s Temple" as
Jim Jones and Stephan Jones. He has been seen at Steppenwolf in the
World Premiere of "Men of Tortuga" (where he originated the role of
Taggart), the Midwest Premiere of "Orange Flower Water" (which
traveled to the Galway Arts Festival), and the World Premiere of
"Wendall Greene". Darrell has also appeared at the Goodman in "The
Shawl" and "Home" as part of the David Mamet Festival, and the World
Premiere of "Martin Furey’s Shot" at TimeLine Theatre, among others.
Darrell has appeared in numerous premieres of Neil LaBute's work at
Profiles, among them, "Fat Pig", "In a Dark Dark House", and "The
Mercy Seat". He has also received Jeff Awards for Principal Actor for
his performances in Profiles’ productions of "Blackbird" (by Adam
Rapp), "Some Voices", and "Eye of God". In addition, he has received
two After Dark Awards for Outstanding Performance for his work in
Profiles’ "Popcorn" and "Carnal Knowledge". Darrell will be seen next
in the World Premiere of Will Kern's "Kid Sister" and the Midwest
Premiere of Neil LaBute's "reasons to be pretty" at Profiles Theatre.
Lance Baker (Charlie Fox) makes his ATC debut with Speed-the-Plow. Recent credits include Spin and Thom Pain (based on nothing) [Jeff Award for Solo Performance] at Theater Wit; Lookingglass' Around the World in 80 Days for Kansas City Rep; Northlight's Mauritius [Jeff nomination]; Fanny Brice: The Real Funny Girl at Maltz Jupiter, FL; Amadeus at Chicago Shakespeare; the world premiere of Craig Wright's Lady for Northlight; A Steady Rain for Chicago Dramatists; A Park in Our House, I Sailed with Magellan and Young Lady from Rwanda at Victory Gardens; Ionesco's Hunger and Thirst and The Grey Zone at A Red Orchid; Dollhouse and Lobby Hero at Goodman [both Jeff nominated].
Nicole Lowrance (Carol and Karen) makes her debut at ATC with The Mamet Repertory. Broadway credits include: Dividing The Estate (also at Primary Stages); International credits: The Merchant of Venice (Royal Shakespeare Company); Off-Broadway: The Merchant of Venice/Jew of Malta (in repertory), All’s Well That Ends Well, Engaged, Don Juan (all with Theatre For a New Audience), Columbinus (New York Theatre Workshop), Tatjana in Color (Culture Project), Red Frogs (P.S. 122), Measure For Measure (NYSF). Regional credits include: The Importance of Being Earnest (Baltimore Center Stage), Curse of the Starving Class (ACT San Francisco), The Learned Ladies of Park Avenue (Hartford Stage), Romeo and Juliet (Folger Theatre), The Little Foxes, Hamlet (The Shakespeare Theatre of DC). TV credits include: Law and Order, Whoopi, Guiding Light, American Masters (PBS). Training: The Juilliard School.
Letter from PJ
Dear Friends,
Welcome to Season 26 at American Theater Company, and the rotating repertory of Oleanna and Speed-the-Plow by David Mamet.
Two years ago, ATC produced its first repertory, dual Caucasian and African-American
productions of True West by Sam Shepard and Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks, in
association with Congo Square Theatre Company. We explored brotherhood from two radically different cultural, economic, and geographic backgrounds. In considering ATC's second
repertory, I wanted to focus on one American playwright and what might be found in comparing and contrasting his canon. In looking for the playwright, I realized that the best place to start was right here, with Chicago’s own David Mamet.
Arguably, Mr. Mamet is one of America's most provocative playwrights. The combination of his explosive language, the seductive cadence of his form, and his often uncomfortable explorations of human behavior leave audiences feeling a little dirty, a little rattled, and quite glad they are not in the play. For over 30 years, Mamet has kept his pen on the pulse of America’s most
challenging moral battles surrounding power in the business world. In the shadow of the 1987 Wall Street Crash, Speed-the-Plow illuminates the universal struggle over doing what is right or what is profitable. In the wake of the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas hearings, Oleanna explores the complexity in the search for truth within the minefield surrounding sexual harassment. For a short time, we are invited into the moral dilemmas of these keepers of power in America as they revel in their successes and suffer from their sins. However political, deep at the heart of these two plays are powerful examinations of the American work place and the values and critical decisions that make or break a career.
(I've often thought Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross should be standard reading at America's top MBA programs.)
The Mamet Rep heralds a landmark season at ATC. This winter marks the ninth year of our holiday classic It's a Wonderful Life: The Radio Play; and in February, we will premiere The Big Meal, the most incredible dinner experience you might ever have in the theater.
And finally, in May, after 40 years, Grease will return to its Chicago roots with a revised and R-rated
restoration set in Chicago's Northwest Side. You will not want to miss this historic season. Join the ATC family by purchasing a subscription. The cost of a full price ticket tonight is almost half the cost of our Flex Pass Subscription. Save money. Have guaranteed seats. Support ATC.
Finally, as you sit down and enjoy The Mamet Rep, join me in thanking our show sponsors: the law firm of Bryan Cave and Mr. Michael Evanoff. Their generous support has kept repertory theater alive in Chicago right here at American Theater Company. We simply could not have done it without them.
Thank you for coming to ATC. I look forward to seeing you back again in the future.
" - Chicago Tribune
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