RACE
Written by David Mamet
Directed by David Mamet

From Pulitzer Prize Winner David Mamet comes
his most explosive four-letter word yet: Race.

Race is the riveting new play by America's foremost playwright, Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross, Speed-the-Plows, American Buffalo, November), in which three attorneys, two black and one white, are offered a chance to defend a white man charged with a crime against a black woman.
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Awards & Nominations:
2010 Tony Award^® Best Featured Actor in a Play – David Alan Grier (nominee)

Opening Night Production Credits 

Opening Night Cast

Understudies: Jordan Lage (Charles Strickland, Jack Lawson), Ray Anthony Thomas (Henry Brown), Afton C. Williamson (Susan). Kari Nicolle (Susan).    

Theatre Owned / Operated by The Shubert Organization (Phillip J. Smith: Chairman; Robert E. Wankel: President)

Produced by Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Jam Theatricals, JK Productions, Peggy Hill & Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz, Scott M. Delman, James L. Nederlander/Terry Allen Kramer, Mort Swinsky/Joseph Deitch, Bat-Barry Productions, Ronald Frankel, James Fuld, Jr., Kathleen K. Johnson, Terry Schnuck, The Weinstein Company, Jay & Cindy Gutterman/Stewart Mercer and Marc Frankel; Associate Producer: Jeremy Scott Blaustein

Written by David Mamet

Directed by David Mamet

Scenic Design by Santo Loquasto; Costume Design by Tom Broecker; Lighting Design by Brian MacDevitt; Associate Scenic Design: Jenny Sawyers; Associate Costume Design: David Withrow; Associate Lighting Design: Driscoll Otto

General Manager: Richards / Climan, Inc.; Company Manager: Bruce Klinger

Technical Supervisor: Hudson Theatrical Associates; Production Stage Manager: Matthew Silver; Stage Manager: Jillian M. Oliver

Casting: Telsey + Company; General Press Representative: Jeffrey Richards Associates, Irene Gandy and Alana Karpoff; Advertising: Serino Coyne, Inc.; Interactive Marketing: Situation Marketing; Photographer: Brigitte Lacombe and Robert J. Saferstein

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“SCALPEL-EDGED INTELLIGENCE! An examination of cultural conscience and paranoia and a topical detective story, RACE raises issues, particularly on the ethnic varieties of shame and the universal nature of guilt, that should offer ample nutrition for many a post-theater dinner conversation.”
– Ben Brantley, The New York Times

“A HIGH-VOLTAGE MELODRAMA! RACE is unafraid to raise painful questions while dispensing prickly ideas and provocative dialogue amid steady suspense. Author/director David Mamet adroitly mixes comic darts with tragic arrows, and the play is full of wry jokes, epigrammatic jolts, and acrid, even cheeky provocations.”
- John Simon, Bloomberg News

“FASCINATING AND DRAMATICALLY CHARGED! David Mamet’s provocative hot-topic new play is anything but simple. The questions it poses and answers its characters supply add up to an intriguing study of perception. .”
– Michael Kuchwara, AP

“CONTENTIOUS AND INTELLECTUALLY SALACIOUS! Deep in its gut, David Mamet’s new play argues, everything in America is still about race. RACE is a gripping new play, superbly cast and directed by the playwright in textbook, rapid-fire style.”
– Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune

“MAMET remains American theatre’s most urgent five-letter word! Race is a swift, gripping 100 minute staging dealing with a heat-seeking political topic.”

- Mark Lawson, The Guardian UK

“TASTY DIALOGUE, SPIKY CONFRONTATIONS, AND MORE THAN OCCASIONALLY BITING OBSERVATIONS! Race riffs artfully on the subtleties of discrimination and guilt, resentment and shame, and its ambiguities appear designed to stir audiences into testy debates.”
– David Rooney, Variety

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JAMES SPADER (Jack Lawson) began his professional career acting in regional theatre in Massachusetts during the late 1970’s.  This past year he completed the final season of his three-time Emmy Award winning portrayal of Alan Shore on the television series “Boston Legal”.  His numerous film credits include: Steven Soderbergh’s Sex, Lies, and Videotape, for which James received the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival; David Cronenberg’s Crash, which was awarded The Cannes Film Festival’s Special Jury Prize; Mike Nichols’ Wolf, Sidney Lumet’s Critical Care;Philip Haas’s The Music of Chance adapted from Paul Auster’s novella; White Palace; Stargate; Less than Zero and Secretary, among many others.  After working in film and television for more than thirty years, it is one of the greatest honors and pleasures of Mr. Spader’s career to be back in the theatre performing this play, with these players, on this stage, for you tonight.

DAVID ALAN GRIER (Henry Brown) received an MFA from the Yale School of Drama and appeared on Broadway in The First (Tony nomination, Theater World Award), Dreamgirls, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. His off-Broadway credits include the New York Shakespeare Festival productions of Richard III and The Merry Wives of Windsor (Central Park), A Soldier’s Play (Negro Ensemble Company), and The Wiz (La Jolla Playhouse). On film, Grier appeared in Amazon Women on the Moon, BAADASSSSS!, Boomerang, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, Jumanji, Poker House, A Soldier’s Story, Streamers, Tales from the Hood and The Woodsman. “Chocolate News,” and “In Living Color” number amongst his television credits. Simon & Schuster recently published Grier’s memoir “Barack Like Me: The Chocolate Covered Truth”.

KERRY WASHINGTON (Susan) Winner of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for Ray.  Film credits include The Last King of Scotland, Lakeview Terrace, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Fantastic Four, Rise of the Silver Surfer, I Think I Love My Wife, She Hate Me, Little Man, The Dead Girl, Life is Hot in Cracktown, Against the Ropes, The Human Stain, Bad Company, Lift, Save the Last Dance, and Our Song. Upcoming films include Mother and Child, A Thousand Words, Night Catches Us, and The Details. TV credits include the Howard Zinn documentary The People Speak, the upcoming animated series Black Panther, and the HBO film Strip Search. This performance marks Washington's Broadway debut.

RICHARD THOMAS (Charles Blane) Emmy Award winner and renowned star of stage and screen, Richard Thomas is best known to audiences for his role as John-Boy in the hit series “The Waltons”. Thomas made his Broadway debut at age seven in the award-winning play Sunrise at Campobello. He soon found himself in demand and was in the television presentation of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House alongside Julie Harris, Christopher Plummer, and Hume Cronyn, followed by the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of A Christmas Tree. Thomas went on to appear in over 40 TV movies and specials, including The Red Badge of Courage; All Quiet on the Western Front; Living Proof: The Hank Williams Jr. Story; Glory! Glory!; Common Ground; Andre’s Mother; and Down, Out & Dangerous and others.  In his first feature film role, he starred along side Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward’ in Winning, and went on to star in Last Summer, Red Sky at Morning, You’ll Like My Mother, 9/30/55,  Battle Beyond the Stars, and most recently appeared in Wonder Boys and Taking Woodstock.. He returned to Broadway in Fifth of July, and has since appeared in NY in The Front Page, Love Letters, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, The Seagull; Tiny Alice.  In 2000, he appeared on the London stage in a production of Art.  In 2004 he starred in Michael Frayn’s Democracy, followed by As You Like It in Central Park,  and the Roundabout’s Broadway production of Richard Greenberg’s A Naked Girl on the Appian Way. He recently starred in the national touring production of Twelve Angry Men.

EDDIE IZZARD (Jack Lawson) made his West End acting stage debut as the lead in the world premiere of David Mamet’s The Cryptogram. Since then Eddie has appeared on stage as Lenny Bruce in Peter Hall's West End production of Lenny, taken the title role in Marlowe’s Edward II, and played Bri in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg in London and on Broadway, a role which won him several prestigious awards including a Tony Nomination for Best Actor. Eddie’s big screen debut was alongside Bob Hoskins and Robin Williams in the 1996 movie Secret Agent. Other highlights in his movie career include The Avengers, Velvet Goldmine, Shadow of the Vampire, The Cat’s Meow, My Super Ex Girlfriend, Oceans Twelve and Oceans Thirteen, and most recently Valkyrie. Eddie appeared as Wayne Malloy in the hugely successful FX drama “The Riches” which has been critically acclaimed across the world. He was recently seen in the BBC remake of “The Day of the Triffids”. Believe: The Eddie Izzard Storyhad its International theatrical release last year. Directed by Sarah Townsend, the film documents Eddie’s struggle from a young street performer in London’s Covent Garden during the 1980’s to a Comedian, Actor, Political Activist and Endurance Athlete.

DENNIS HAYSBERT (Henry Brown) is thrilled to be making his Broadway debut. Haysbert has captured the attention of audiences and critics alike with his groundbreaking role as President David Palmer on FOX’s hit series "24" for which he received his first Golden Globe Nomination.  Haysbert also appeared on the small screen in the critically acclaimed series "Now and Again" and recently returned to television starring in his own series "The Unit."  Haysbert has been seen on the big screen in Breach, Jarhead, Far from Heaven, Love and Basketball, Absolute Power, Love Field, Major League, Heat, Random Hearts, What’s Cooking, Waiting to Exhale, The Thirteenth Floor, Navy Seals, Suture, and in DreamWorks’ animated film Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas.  He just completed shooting the feature film The Details, with Laura Linney, Tobey McGuire, and Elizabeth Banks.  Born and raised in Northern California, Haysbert’s acting career began when he won his first television role on the Emmy-winning episode of “Lou Grant,” which co-starred Jesse Jackson.  He is very active in the fight against AIDS and in the year 2000, he was the spokesperson for the Harlem Health Expo “Break the Silence.” Haysbert is also very proud to serve as the Global Ambassador for the Discovery Channel’s Global Educational Partnership.  When not treading the boards in New York he resides in Los Angeles.

AFTON C. WILLIAMSON is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University and the University of Alabama/Alabama Shakespeare Festival M.F.A. program, and her theatrical credits, in resident theatres, include I Have Before Me A Remarkable Document Given To Me By A Young Lady From Rwanda (Vermont Stage Company)  Crowns, The Beaux Strategem, Cymbeline, Romeo and Juliet, The Count of Monte Cristo, Dr. Faustus, Death of a Salesman, James and the Giant Peach, Richard III (Alabama Shakespeare Festival) and Lincoln Center Theater’s Workshop Production.

DAVID MAMET (Playwright/Director) Mr. Mamet is the author of various plays and screenplays, and has directed ten films. He is a founding member of the Atlantic Theater Company, and the author of the bestselling Bambi vs. Godzilla – On the Nature, Purpose, and Practice of the Movie Business; The Wicked Son; 3 Uses of the Knife; and True and False – Heresy and Common Sense for the Actor. His book of cartoons, Tested on Orphans, is available at www.sfelectricworks.com.
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