[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of “Oleanna” by David Mamet, directed by Miguel Perez, produced by Darcy Lee, and starring Claire Wagner and Jean-Michel Richaud at the Hollywood Fringe Festival 2023.
Who doesn’t love a David Mamet play? “Oleanna” was completely new to me, which is a gift in and of itself. But at the Hollywood Fringe Festival!! Wow!
“Oleanna” is a play about the excruciating subject of power, manipulation, the treacherous nature of higher education, and the danger of assuming we all know what’s going on at the same time, what it means, and why. It’s also particularly poignant in this moment when generations are miles apart sometimes in a cultural sense. It’s a minefield honestly and I’m often corrected by my 20-something daughter over one thing or another and I’m the most liberal person you will ever meet….so this play really resonated with me.
A professor, in a honest attempt to help a struggling student, stumbles into a #MeToo so dire it destroys him. A meek and out-of-her-depth female student, in a stunning power switch, enacts a kind of revenge for a slight humiliation and the professor carelessly flounders, overshares, initiates contact, and on and on it goes in an absolutely terrifying series of scenes.
“Oleanna” is an extraordinary play. One every man on earth should see in fact. And every woman. It poses questions rather than makes judgments. The biggest being, must we be careful what we say and take care in how it is interpreted, especially when you have seniority in any way? Having said that, aren’t we so primed for perversion that we second guess everything? Apparently not always.
I don’t know. But this play is a superb examination of a worse case scenario. When no one says, “stop, let talk about this.” It takes truly excellent actors to play these characters on all their levels so precisely that for the audience it is like watching a slow motion car crash. As we squirm in our seats, as we gasp out loud, grinding our teeth collectively in uncomfortable recognition of many, many moments. Grateful for our infinitely better outcomes.
Claire Wagner is astonishing as the student. She brilliantly embodies every nuance of this stubborn, floundering woman who finds her purpose in ruin rather than understanding. Or is she the hero?
Jean-Michel Richaud is equally excellent. Walking the line between frustration and empathy, unnervingly obtuse and painfully ignorant. They work together with a kind of breathtaking separateness. As if they are having two totally different experiences of the exact same moment. Because, of course, they are.
“Oleanna” is like nothing else in Fringe. It’s an island of Mamet. And this really beautiful production, in all its frightening awkwardness, is an absolute highlight. Go and see this play!!!!!
Tickets:
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/9520?tab=tickets
Where:
Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood
When:
Sunday, June 18 @ 5:45pm
Saturday, June 24 @ 12pm
Sunday, June 25 @ 3pm