Many people know that Jeremy Pivens left his Broadway contract with "Speed the Plow" abruptly in December due to mercury poisoning, rumored to have been caused by eating too much sushi. Show author David Mamet was quoted in the Huffington Post, "I talked to Jeremy on the phone, and he told me that he discovered that he had a very high level of mercury," Mamet said. "So my understanding is that he is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer."
Doesn't matter, although of course I hope Mr. Pivens is okay. The show is awesome. I saw the show with replacement Norbert Leo Butz (of Rent and Dirty Rotten Scoundrelsfame, and whom I saw in the original cast of Wicked.) He was incredible. And even more incredible was the beautiful energy between Butz and actors Raul Esparza (whom I saw in Company last year) and Elisabeth Moss (who is best known for her HBO role in "MadMen").
There's a bit of irony in all this. The show is a fast-paced two days in Hollywood, where everyone is ambitious and back-stabbing and selfish. Butz (Bobby Gould) and Esparza (Charlie Fox) are such ruthless producers that they are almost characatures of themselves. Moss (Karen) is a temp filling in for Bobby's secretary. She appears naive. But of course, is not.
Bobby and Charlie are excited to be able to present a great, sure-win movie (along with a coveted lead actor) to the studio head. They are sure this is going to be their trip to the big time. They have worked together for 11 years and while they circle around each other a bit, they say that they are friend. Genuine friends. Of course, what does that mean in Hollywood? Not much. Right. Let's do lunch, baby. That is the crux of the tension in the play.
So the irony is that Pivens, who was supposed to be so central to the success of the show, bails out for what at first seems like a bogus health claim (although apparently he really was sick), and the cast and Mamet do not rally around him - letting him go down in a howl of laughter from the industry. That is typical Hollywood behavior, right? You abandon the guy just when he needs you most - and you never hang on to friends in a tailspin.
More irony. The way I heard about this play was from a very friendly (and, now that I remember, pretty loud. No Irony there!) guy that I met at a singles gathering who was telling me all about how he's an investor in this sure-fire, white hot Broadway play. It's Speed-the-Plow, he tells me. And of course he's very important to the investor team.
I'm always up for a play, so I get a ticket. Ironic that despite his eagerness to "stay in touch, honey" I haven't seen or heard from this Mr. Investor guy. How much more Hollywood can you get?
I still loved the play, all irony aside. The timing of the piece demands incredible precision and the three actors are clearly enjoying themselves. The dialog is a repartee - back and forth and forth and back... they miss one beat and the whole thing collapses into nonsense. It's a hard play to perform. And they all did an amazing job, especially Esparza and Butz.
We do live in a rough, political world. And we all need friends to see us through - good and bad, when we soar with eagles or when we make stupid mistakes. For all the bravado and the hype, turns out that Bobby and Charlie really ARE friends. The stuff of champions. And that, perhaps, is the biggest irony of all.
If you can get a ticket - go see Speed-the-Plow. It ends soon!
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