Speed the Plow (or better yet Speed the Dialogue)

"Life in the movie business is like the, is like the beginning of a new love affair: it's full of surprises, and you're constantly getting fucked."

That pretty much sums up the plot of Speed the Plow in which a newly minted head of production must decide whether to make the offensive buddy comedy with popular star or the radiation will lead to the end of the world statement film. But the joy of the play is not the sum of its plot but rather the rhythm of its words and the abilities of its stars.

I am happy to say that Jeremy Piven, Elisabeth Moss and especially Raul Esparza all do an amazing job of making Mamet's flow like rapid-fire rhythmic poetry. They perfectly play off each other and have the timing of the lines down to a science so the words easily bounce from one to another. Speed the Plow has many funny lines (some particularly timely ones about how no one is really a maverick and how you have to have hope drew the most laughs) but the most enjoyable part for me was just getting sucked into the tremendous energy coming from the stage. It of course helped that I sat just six rows back and had a perfect view of the performers - it's the most I've ever appreciated being that close to the stage.

I do have to point out that it was a little difficult to separate Jeremy Piven and Elisabeth Moss from their well-known television characters. The scene where the seemingly idealistic but possibly ruthless secretary tries to talk the production head with a tough exterior but vulnerable heart into the artsy film absolutely felt like Peggy traveled from the 60's to have a conversation with Ari Gold. That was certainly interesting but more than a little distracting. However, Raul Esparza absolutely stole the show with his coked-up, slickster studio suit looking for a way into wealth and power. He stormed around the stage with such unbelievable force and spit out his lines with such speed and mastery that I can't imagine anyone else being able to tackle the part in quite the same way (I admit I did not see the original 1998 production but I can't imagine Ron Silver working at that level of intensity).

If you have a chance to see this play before it closes (they're selling tickets through February) I highly recommend it. It's certainly the most fun I've had at a Broadway show this year.