In all the interviews, playwright David Mamet insists that the President depicted in his new play, November, is not (repeat: NOT) George W. Bush. Nathan Lane, who stars as President Charles H.P. Smith, says the same thing and they're probably right. Smith is running for re-election, certain to lose and immersed in various machinations to extort cash from the Turkey Farmers Association in exchange for the ritual pardoning of a couple of Thanksgiving gobblers. Can't recall Bush getting mixed up in anything like that…or the determination of his head speechwriter, an avowed lesbian, to have her employer marry her and her lady friend on live TV. President Smith has to contend with that, too.
However, most of the laughs in Act One, Scene One are at Bush's expense. Smith is wildly unpopular for his admitted ineptness including — but not limited to — invading Iraq and clumsily threatening war with Iran. And the audience howls because they hate George W. Bush or at least feel that the outrageousness of the play isn't so far from the truth. They also laugh because Nathan Lane is very, very funny.
Carolyn and I spent Saturday evening laughing a lot…but I'm not sure how much of it was at what Mamet wrote and how much of it was what Lane did with it. It was clearly both but I'm not sure I'd recommend the play if and when you have the opportunity to see it with anyone else. (Laurie Metcalf is also quite wonderful portraying the lesbian speechwriter.) If you can go see it with Nathan, go. And do yourself the favor of knowing as little about the storyline in advance as possible. I'll do you the favor of disclosing no more than this.