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November
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October 23–November 22, 2009
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by David Mamet
Directed by Ron Lagomarsino
"A raucous new Mamet comedy"
—The Times (London)
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David Mamet's fiendishly funny, over-the-top new comedy November, fresh from its smash-hit success on Broadway, offers no mercy in its satirical stab at American politics. Meet President Charles Smith, the most corrupt, inept buffoon ever to sit in the Oval Office. It's the final days of his bid for a second term, but the country is a mess and his poll numbers are "lower than Gandhi's cholesterol." Toss in a lesbian speechwriter longing to marry her sweetheart on national television, a cynical chief of staff, Thanksgiving turkeys awaiting pardon, and enough shady backroom scheming to make even a Glengarry Glen Ross con man blush, and you've got a new Mamet masterpiece.
Running time: 1 hour and 45 minutes, including one
15-minute intermission.
"Ferociously original . . . and crisply performed, [November] rollicks from one politically incorrect punch line to the next." —San Francisco Chronicle
"Savage merriment . . . delightful . . . wild . . . brilliant" —San Francisco Examiner
"Vaudeville meets current events. . . . David Mamet just couldn't resist the bully pulpit of satire."
—San Jose Mercury News
"Very funny" —The Sacramento Bee
"Remarkable . . . one of the most profoundly laugh-out-loud plays that I have seen in many years."
—BeyondChron.org
"David Mamet has dealt an ace." —The New Yorker
"The big, explosive laughter that starts early in David Mamet's November is of a kind I haven't heard in decades." —The Village Voice
"November gets my vote! Like an expert marksman in a shooting gallery, the playwright takes aim at just about every hot-button issue of the day, scoring a bull's eye every time." —Backstage East
"A hilarious, timely, decidedly un-Mamet-like laughfest" —Hollywood Reporter
"Sublime! One of the first breezy and intelligent comedies of substance we've seen in a long time" —The Villager
"Extremely funny" —The New York Times
Click here to download the performance program for November (PDF).
This production features explicit language.
Prologue*
October 27, 5:30 p.m.
Get inside the artistic process—come early for a preperformance discussion with the director and a member of the A.C.T. artistic staff.
Theater on the Couch*
October 30, 8 p.m.
Join members of the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis for an exciting postperformance discussion that explores the psychological aspects of the show and addresses audience questions.
Audience Exchanges*
November 3, 7 p.m.
November 8, 2 p.m.
November 11, 2 p.m.
After the show, stick around for a lively Q&A session with the actors, moderated by a member of the A.C.T. artistic staff.
OUT with A.C.T.
November 4, 8 p.m.
LGBT night at A.C.T. features a catered afterparty and a cast meet and greet. Visit www.act-sf.org/out for more information about how to subscribe to OUT nights.
*Discussions are free for ticket holders. Please note that performance times vary.
Insight into the Play, the Playwright, and the Production
Each entertaining and informative issue of Words on Plays, A.C.T.'s in-depth performance guide series, contains a synopsis, advance program notes, study questions, and additional background information about the historical and cultural context of the play.
Words on Plays is available for purchase in the lobby of the theater during performances or online ($12 each + postage and handling). To subscribe to the full season ($70), call 415.749.2250.
Words on Plays Prepared by
Elizabeth Brodersen, Publications Editor
Michael Paller, Resident Dramaturg
Dan Rubin, Publications & Literary Associate
Katie May, Publications Intern
Ellen Cassidy and Megan Cohen, Dramaturgy Interns
Table of Contents
Adobe Reader is required to view A.C.T. publications.
Production Photos
Click to view larger images from November. All photographs by Kevin Berne.
On the A.C.T. Blog
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Inspired by Turkeys
posted by Manoel Felciano, A.C.T. Core Acting Company member
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Mastering Uncertainty
posted by Carey Perloff, A.C.T. Artistic Director
Press Releases
Mamet Writing Contest Winners Announced
November 9, 2009
David Mamet's November Extends by Popular Demand
October 29, 2009
Mamet Looks at the Funny Side of Presidential Politics in November
September 18, 2009
Visionary New Works, Master Artists, and Reimagined Classics Fill
A.C.T.'s 2009–10 Season
March 26, 2009
Reviews and Other Press
Theater review: A lightweight 'November'
Robert Hurwitt, San Francisco Chronicle
The savage merriment of 'November'
Janos Gereben, San Francisco Examiner
Manoel Felciano back home in A.C.T.'s 'November'
Jesse Hamlin, San Francisco Chronicle
Politician-in-chief: Gay marriage figures in A.C.T.'s 'November'
Richard Dodds, Bay Area Reporter
Foam use expands to new heights
Zahid Sardar, San Francisco Chronicle
Calling All Playwrights, Scribes, and Budding Dramatists . . .
We are proud to announce that the following winning scripts from the David Mamet Writing Contest will be performed by members of A.C.T.'s world-renowned M.F.A. Program in Fred's Columbia Room, at the American Conservatory Theater, at 10:00 p.m. on Friday, November 13 and on Saturday, November 14.
Winning entries performing on Friday, November 13:
- Glenbelly Glen Watson, by Timothy Faust of San Francisco, CA, a lighthearted and surprisingly aggressive exchange between Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Watson regarding the invention of the telephone
- The Corrupt Bargain, by Ellen Cassidy of Palo Alto, CA, a frenetic dispute between Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay in the moments before Clay threw the 1824 presidential election to John Quincy Adams
- When Joe Met Sarah, by Peter N. Chumo II of Oakland, CA, a hypothetical predebate exchange between the 2008 vice presidential candidates
- 31 Degrees, by Megan O'Patry of San Mateo, CA, in which physicist Richard Feynman and Rogers Commission chair William P. Rogers argue about Feynman's decision to issue a minority report regarding the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle
- Levene's Concession Speech, by Yolanda Yeb of San Francisco, CA, the forlorn Glengarry Glen Ross salesman's concession speech after a failed bid for city councilman
Winning entries performing on Saturday, November 14:
- American Blago, by Joshua Hill of New York, NY, a hilarious glimpse behind the Blagojevich impeachment hearings
- Hamilton and Burr, by Elijah Guo of Berkeley, CA, an admittedly "historically inaccurate and politically incorrect" take on the infamous Hamilton-Burr duel
- American Idol, by Michael Sachs of Los Angeles, CA, in which John McCain and some trusted advisers reflect upon his running mate selection
- Grenada, Granada, by Henry Tenenbaum of San Mateo, CA, a witty tongue twister in which President Reagan clarifies exactly which country he's invading
- Paint and Feathers, by Maggie McCally of San Francisco, CA, a conversation between a hard-boiled cobbler and his young apprentice about the impending Boston Tea Party
- Sarah Opts Out, by Shirley King of Benicia, CA, a Mametized revision of Sarah Palin's infamous resignation speech
Visit www.act-sf.org/mametcontest to read more about the contest!
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