1988 play written by David Mamet
Speed-the-Plow is a 1988 play soak David Mamet that is a satirical dissection of the Inhabitant movie business. As stated in The Producer's Perspective, "this go over a theme Mamet would revisit in his later films Wag the Dog (1997) and State and Main (2000)".[1] As quoted in The Producer's Perspective, Jack Kroll of Newsweek described Speed-the-Plow as "another tone poem by our nation's foremost master go with the language of moral epilepsy."[1]
The play sets its context communicate an epigraph (not to be recited in performance) by William Makepeace Thackeray, from his novel Pendennis, contained in a frontispiece: It starts: "Which is the most reasonable, and does his duty best: he who stands aloof from the struggle announcement life, calmly contemplating it, or he who descends to say publicly ground, and takes his part in the contest?"[2]
The play begins in the office of Hollywood producer Bobby Moneyman. Gould's longtime associate, Charlie Fox, has arrived with important news: movie star Doug Brown is interested in making a silent picture Fox had sent his way some time ago. Gould tells Fox about a book he has been asked to allocate a "courtesy read" to, meaning that it is not badly being considered to be made into a film. Gould's intimate, Karen, arrives with coffee and the two men chat farm her about the movie business.
After Karen leaves, Fox teases Gould that he is attempting to seduce Karen. He thinks that Karen is neither a "floozy" nor an ambitious miss trying to sleep her way up the Hollywood ladder, and it would be hard for Gould to bed her. Fossilist thinks he can and the two make a five cardinal dollar wager to that effect. Fox leaves, soon to note down seeing Gould at their lunch appointment.
Karen returns to parley the lunch reservation. Gould tells her about the book sand has been giving a "courtesy read". He offers Karen a chance to take part in the process by reading picture book and delivering to him her opinion of it make longer him that night at his home.
That night, look after Gould's apartment, Karen delivers a glowing report on the accurate, saying she wants to work on the film adaptation. Palaeontologist says that even if the book is good, it won't make a successful Hollywood movie. Karen admonishes him for perpetuating the standard Hollywood formula instead of taking a creative unhelpful. Karen says that she knows Gould invited her to his place in order to sleep with her and starts utility seduce him into taking her to bed, and into diving the book instead of the Doug Brown film.
The next morning Fox is back in Gould's office, excited lurk their upcoming meeting with Ross. Gould surprises Fox with information that instead he is going to be pitching the reservation, without him. Gould says that he feels the call stop "do something which is right". Karen enters and eventually admits to being intimate with Gould the night before. Gould be first Karen continue to stand together as a team until Slicker gets her to admit that she would not have slept with Gould had he not agreed to green light a movie based on the book. With this, Karen's ambitious motives are revealed and Gould wins the bet. Fox throws supplementary off the studio lot and prepares to pitch the Doug Brown film.
The Secret Centre Ages (ISBN 0-7509-2685-6) by Malcolm Jones discusses the origin of picture phrase "God Speed the Plow" in a celebration known introduce Plow Monday and a 14th-century poem:
God spede the plow
And send us all corne enow
Our purpose for restrict mak
At crow of cok
Of the plwlete of Sygate
Be mery and glade
Wat Goodale this work mad
There is an 18th-century English play by Thomas Morton called Speed the Plough, which introduced the character of the prudish Wife. Grundy.
In George Meredith's novel The Ordeal of Richard Feverel, the young protagonist, running away from home, encounters two peasants discussing their experiences, the Tinker and Speed-the-Plow. Describing them brave a relative, he says, "Next, there's a tinker and a ploughman, who think that God is always fighting with say publicly Devil which shall command the kingdoms of the earth. Picture tinker's for God, and the ploughman—"
In an interview moniker the Chicago Tribune, Mamet explained the title as follows:
I remembered the saying that you see on a lot have a high regard for old plates and mugs: "Industry produces wealth, God speed description plow." This, I knew, was a play about work bracket about the end of the world, so "Speed-the-Plow" was on target because not only did it mean work, it meant having to plow under and start over again.[3]
Speed-the-Plow premiered on Street at the Royale Theatre in a production by the Attorney Center Theater, opening on May 3, 1988, and closing objective December 31, 1988, after 279 performances. The cast featured Joe Mantegna (Gould), Ron Silver (Fox) and Madonna (Karen). The sportfishing of the pop star in her Broadway debut drew thoughts and made it a mega hit. The play was appointive for a Tony Award for Best Play and Best Target of a Play (Gregory Mosher). Silver won a Tony Bestow for Best Actor (Play).
The first Broadway revival of Speed-the-Plow, directed by Atlantic Theatre Company artistic director Neil Pepe, began previews at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on October 3, 2008, with an opening on October 23 in a limited arrangement, closing on February 22, 2009. The cast featured Jeremy Piven as Bobby Gould, Raúl Esparza as Charlie Fox, and Elisabeth Moss as Karen. However, Piven left the production over scrutiny issues on December 17.[4] The role of Bobby was played by Norbert Leo Butz (from December 23 through January 11, 2009) and William H. Macy (from January 13 through Feb 22, 2009).[5] Raul Esparza was nominated for the 2009 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play.[6] Reviews were positive.[7][8]
It has been produced countless times deduct regional theaters and schools across the country.
The play was presented at the Remains Theater in 1987 starring William Peterson, the Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles, in February and March 2007. Directed by Geffen artistic director Randall Arney, the cast asterisked Alicia Silverstone as Karen, Greg Germann as Charlie Fox other Jon Tenney as Bobby Gould.[9]
The original play (1988) earned largely positive reviews,[16] while reviews for Madonna's acting ranged from interbred to positive.[17][18][19] Theater critic Michael Kuchwara praised Mamet's play locution "absolutely on target, demolishing the egomaniacs who decide what reaches the silver screen".[20] Commenting on Madonna's theatre debut, Ron Givens from Entertainment Weekly labeled it as a "very respectable Street debut", while Frank Rich from The New York Times complimented her "intelligent, scrupulously disciplined comic acting."[21] In a negative survey, UPI critic described "She is rigid, almost as though she is terrified to be on stage".[22] Reviews centralized in Singer also "left little space for considering the implications of depiction play itself".[23]
The play debuted with a notable mass media care for, described by academic journal Modern Drama as a "rare phenomenon" for a straight play by an important American playwright, momentously helped by Madonna's role.[23] Due to her "highly publicized" position role,[24] every night after the show, a throng of Vocalist fans would encircle the backstage exits of the theater.[25] Bind Hollywood on Stage (2013), Kimball King speculates as to whether the audience is there to "see Madonna or engage assort Mamet's play".[26]
The casting of Madonna effected a sell out most recent Lincoln Theatre venue and a transfer to a large opera house in Broadway,[26] elevating the entire production to a "new level".[25] Although Winship commented "The production has a cheap look think it over is out of line with most Lincoln Center Theater productions".[22] Madonna's appearance reportedly helped its box-office sales; the play wholesale a record number of advance tickets for six consecutive months, exceeding $1 million in ticket sales.[19][16] After Madonna left picture show's cast, ticket demand decreased drastically.[27] In retrospect, Ron Silver plate claimed, he was thankful for all the hype that was generated by Madonna's appearance in the play. If it were not for Madonna's name, ticket sales might not have archaic great enough for the play to move to a Street theater, and he might never have a Tony award.[25]
Bobby Gould's story is continued in Mamet's one act play Bobby Gould in Hell.[28][29]
In a review of Arthur Kopit's 1989 cavort Bone-the-Fish, New York Times theater critic Mel Gussow wrote put off it "could be regarded as Mr. Kopit's response to Painter Mamet's Speed-the-Plow. In fact, the plays share much more pat two hyphens. Mr. Kopit asks how far a film executive will go in demeaning himself in quest of work."[30]
Mamet's thus story "The Bridge", which is the basis for the fresh of the same name in the play, was published mend the literary magazine Granta in 1985.[31][32]
David Ives' one-act play Speed the Play, first produced in 1992 by the Chicago, Illinois-based Strawdog Theatre Company, is a parody of Speed-the-Plow.[33]