Mamet Plows Well-Trod Turf

It’s all about words with playwright David Mamet–words that ping, words that somersault and words that meet coming and going. No other play demonstrates Mamet’s terse, cryptic dialogue more than “Speed the Plow,” currently playing at the Geffen Playhouse through March 25. Originally produced in 1988, “Speed The Plow” concentrates its emotional power on the volatile yet thoroughly recognizable relationship between two slick Hollywood producers bound up in the incessant hunger for a bankable movie. Their macho friendship is about as loyal as expediency dictates, just what Hollywood nourishes. But Mamet can riff on the audacious avarice in moviemaking with one hand tied behind his back. The power of the characters stems from the way they reveal themselves through language that is both spoken and unspoken. Charlie Fox (Greg Germann), who if he weren’t an actor could audition for Cirque d’Soleil, accomplishes an astonishing choreography of words and body in motion. This is a fast-talking guy, who spills out all over. A super-caffeinated insecure 40-year-old, Charlie has been in the business way too many years without a hit. His foil, head of production Bobby Gould (Jon Tenney), has the physical and emotional capacity needed to survive in the shark pool. Bobby and Charlie have been friends for 11 years, but in a Mutt and Jeff imbalance, until one afternoon Charlie offers Bobby the hottest star of the moment, who is onboard to do the movie that will make everyone a fortune. The men are interrupted in their fantasy by Karen (Alicia Silverstone), the office temp, who wonders whether it’s a good film. ‘Sorry?’ Bobby asks as if he misheard the question. ‘Is it a good film?’ she repeats. ‘Well, it’s a commodity. The question is, is there such a thing as good film that doesn’t make money?’ So it’s the dilemma: In this tale of greed, seduction and power, everything Bobby believes in is put to the test. Alas, over the past 20 years, we have seen this field plowed over and over. So the dilemma is short-lived. When Bobby assumes his new post as head of production, he pays lip service to integrity and highmindedness: ‘God gave me the job as head of production and I’ll be good,’ he says. ‘Look at me, I’m here one day, and I’m a whore.’ That Hollywood has been taken over by business people is nothing new, but one thing we can be sure of is that the memos and power lunches aren’t nearly as entertaining as Mamet imagines. Tickets ($35 to $69) can be purchased at GeffenPlayhouse.com or at 208-5454.