America has a president it cannot stand -- a Republican president who is corrupt, self-serving, has an affinity for torture and is fostering poll numbers "lower than Gandhi's cholesterol."
Sound familiar?
This president is Charles H. P. Smith, leader of the free world in David Mamet's play "November," playing through Nov. 15 at the Lyric Stage Company.
President Smith (played by Richard Snee), a woefully unpopular incumbent, is desperately trying to gain money for his campaign, his presidential library and himself just days before the election. With him in the Oval Office are his top aide, Archer Brown, a stiff played comically by Will McGarrahan, his liberal, lesbian speechwriter Clarice Bernstein (Adrianne Krstansky), a representative of the National Association of Turkey By-Products Manu-facturers (Neil A. Casey) and an angry Native American chief with a poison dart (Dennis Trainor, Jr.).
The characters for a political farce are all in attendance. Quirky details -- such as Bernstein's recent trip to China with her partner to adopt a baby -- are appropriately placed and exploited to their fullest capacity for humor.
Even so, the production falls short of its potential. The bulk of the blame cannot be placed on the cast, because the small ensemble works smoothly and believably together. The problem actually rests primarily with the playwright.
Many of Mamet's hallmarks are alive in "November" -- rampant swearing, fast-paced, short lines -- yet the cheap shots are too plentiful for the show to be as complex as many of Mamet's other plays. Most of the one-liners or punch lines are nothing new:
"We can't build a wall to keep out the illegal immigrants, sir."
"Why not?"
"Because we need the illegal immigrants to build the wall!"
This was once a funny joke, but it stopped being funny when Carlos Mencia repeated it for the 500th time.
The cast has a difficult time carrying the show through the spotty script. While the first scene started out with strong, comic energy, the pace lags as the act wore on, bogged down by awkward entrances and extreme plot contrivances.
Contrived twists are excusable sometimes in a farce, provided that they are backed up with quality humor. Unfortunately, this usually was not the case in "November." There were some genuinely funny moments, however, that were well served by the cast and their director Daniel Gidron.
The characters in the Oval Office are constantly abuzz with activity and very rarely stagnant. The contrast made by Bernstein's inspired plea to the president to marry her and her partner (one of the best moments of the production), made while she was sitting behind the president's desk with him, lends appropriate gravity to the scene.
There are a few nagging problems with on-stage traffic, however, that couldn't be saved by good direction. For example, in the first act Bernstein spends about 15 minutes off to the side of the stage, sick and wanting to go home for the day. Why does she stand so quietly for so long while Smith and Arch hash out serious financial issues? If she's that delirious, why doesn't she plead more earnestly to be relieved from her duties, instead of standing awkwardly in a corner for so long?
The worst problem with the production is that it is a farce with the ultimate goal of taking shots at a George W. Bush-like president -- but these shots aren't original enough to justify the play. Lyric Stage's talented cast puts in a solid effort to make the show enjoyable, giving it some genuine, interesting parts, but the script ultimately leaves much to be desired.
