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Happy Birthday David Mamet 1947


Valin

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Conservative Playwright David Mamet Isn’t Going Anywhere

Six years ago after David Mamet outed himself, Jonah Goldberg suggested he’d lose favor. But among popular audiences, demand for his work has never been higher.

David Marcus
November 7, 2014

 

Back in 2008 after playwright David Mamet outed himself as a conservative Jonah Goldberg made the following prediction: “Already, critics are saying his work is slipping. Soon, they will say his work was never that great to begin with.” Six years on, it’s not entirely clear whether Goldberg was right. While Mamet does tend to dominate conversations about overrated playwrights, he is still quite popular and his new play, “China Doll” will open on Broadway next year starring Al Pacino. Meanwhile, across the pond Lindsey Lohan is starring in “Speed the Plow” in the role originally played by Madonna.

 

In fact, since 2008 Mamet has had eight Broadway productions, not including the upcoming one. It is a stunning number compared with the three productions of Tom Stoppard, two of August Wilson, one of Stephen Adly Guirgis and John Patrick Shanley, and zero of Tony Kushner. And, running somewhat counter to Goldberg’s premise, the nine total Broadway productions since 2008 are more than Mamet had in the previous 20 years. By the statistical standards of the Great White Way, Mamet remains the most powerful playwright force in the world.

 

But Goldberg wasn’t really talking about Broadway producers, whose bottom line is the bottom line and who see Mamet’s plays as safe investments. He was talking about critics and tastemakers. If we look one level below Broadway productions, to high-end non-profit theaters whose bottom line is whatever they can mooch from donors and the government, we do not see anywhere near the same dominance in productions. Theater Communications Group (TCG), a lobbying organization for about 700 of these theater companies, sometimes sees Mamet in their yearly “most produced playwrights” list. But in some years since 2008 he does not appear at all. This past year he was not even in the top 20.

 

(Snip)

 

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My Take on Blagojevich

David Mamet
Posted: 01/10/2009

 

Editor's Note: More than one commentator, including our own Jason Linkins, has compared Gov. Rod Blagojevich's obscenity-filled wiretapped conversations to the profane poetry of a David Mamet play. So we asked Mamet for his take on Blagojevich.

 

I am from Chicago, and, so, having been disillusioned with politics at an early age I do not become involved. The only reason I vote is because they pay me.

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righteousmomma

Valin,

Thanks for posting. One of the best ever. One may not agree with everything Mamet says or approve of some of his language but he is truly a philosopher of the New Mellenium in "post Christian" America. Gritty, hard hitting realism and common sense balanced by a keen intellect and new found Faith. Imo.

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