Riverside Theatre Presents: David Mamet’s Oleanna

Riverside Theatre presents

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David Mamet’s

Oleanna

(Vero Beach, FL) Riverside Theatre, led by Producing Artistic Director/CEO Allen D. Cornell, Managing Director/COO Jon R. Moses and Director of Special Initiatives/CFO Patti Rooney, presents David Mamet’s award-winning drama, Oleanna. Sponsored by Bobbie Olsen and by Riverside Theatre’s Patron Producers Group, Oleanna performs on the Waxlax Stage from March 21 – April 9, 2023 

Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet, Oleanna is a two-character play showcasing the power dynamics between a college professor and one of his female students. 

Carol is struggling in class and she makes an appointment with John, her professor, so that he can help her understand some of the themes in the class. She is frustrated and explains that due to certain circumstances, she cannot fail this class. 

John, fending off repeated telephone calls from his wife, seems preoccupied. It could be that he and his wife are about to buy their first house since he is about to be granted tenure. In between calls, John tells Carol he understands her frustrations and is willing to give her an ‘A’ if she returns to his office a few more times to discuss the material. 

When Carol returns to John’s office, things get contentious. Due to the conversation of their first meeting, she files a sexual harassment report with the Tenure Committee and the committee has put a hold on John’s advancement. Shocked, John cannot understand the accusation. 

Is John the sexual predator Carol makes him out to be, or is Carol mistaken in her assertions? 

Oleanna premiered in Cambridge, Massachusetts in May 1992 as the first production of Mamet’s new Back Bay Theater Company. It opened Off-Broadway at the Orpheum Theatre in October of that year starring William H. Macy and Rebecca Pidgeon. 

Frank Rich of The New York Times hailed the production saying, “Oleanna is likely to provoke more argument than any play this season.” And Variety said the play was, “provocative, a rare thing in today’s theater.” A 1994 film version of the play was directed by Mamet and starred Macy, reprising his role and Debra Eisenstadt. 

While Oleanna made its debut long ago, it is notable that the themes discussed continue to spark discussion thirty years later.

Riverside’s production of Oleanna will be directed by Chris Clavelli and stars Denis Lambert as John and Dani Nelson as Carol.  

The design and production crew includes: Emily Luongo (Scenic Design), Anna Hillbery (Costume Design), William Gibbons-Brown (Lighting Design), Sam Hopewell (Sound Design), David Reed (Fight Director), Audrey M. Brown (Production Stage Manager) and Sarah Nicholson (Assistant Stage Manager). 

Oleanna performs March 21 – April 9, 2023 on the Waxlax Stage at Riverside Theatre. Tickets are $65. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Box Office at 772-231-6990 or online at www.riversidetheatre.com. NOTE: This show contains adult language and situations. 

Performances are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7:30pm; Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm; with matinees on Wednesdays, select Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm.  

Performance Schedule:

March 21, 22, 23, 29, 30, April 4, 5 & 6 @ 7:30pm

March 22, 25, 26, 29, 30, April 1, 2, 5, 8 & 9 @ 2pm

March 24, 25, 31, April 1, 7 & 8 @ 8pm

Oleanna is sponsored by Bobbie Olsen andis presented by Riverside Theatre’s Patron Producers Group: Riverside Theatre’s Patron Producers Group: Brad and Fran Anderson, Anonymous, Lois Appleby, Linda Aronberg, Anita Astrachan^, Carol Atkinson, Barbara Baldwin, David and Cynthia Bardes, Paul and Jayne Becker, Sam and Susie Bell, Dick and Sue Bergeman, Ted and Debbie Berghorst, Eric and Fuzzy Billings, Jerry and Anne Blatherwick, John and Anita Brennan, Peter and Susie Brinckerhoff, Camille Broadbent, Bill and Laura Buck, Tim and Carol Buhl, Tony and Joyce Caldarone, Bill and Karen Campbell, Chris and Faris Chesley, Don and Rose Ciampa, Dottie Currie, Dick and Maryanne Davis, Willem and Marion de Vogel, Don and Vicky DeMuth, John and Sue Dobbs, VJ and Veronica Dowling, Bill and Laura Frick, Michael and Mary Fuller, Bob and Wheatie Gibb, Jennifer Grant, Mary Jane “MJ”^ Grant, Herb and Anne Gullquist, Bill and Eva Gurley, Duke and Gael Habernickel, Robert and Pat Hall, Dick and Rosemary Haverland, Calvin and Sally Hills, Joan and Michael Hoben, Dave Horner and Constance Pitcher, Ron Hunt and Lisa Amorosa, Pete Justi, Dave and Barb Kaytes, John and Pam Kean, Robert and Nell Kleinschmidt, Judy and Lou LaFage, Bill and Joy Lane, Charlie Long, Betty MacMillan, Jacqueline Malloy, Jim Marver and Shirin Kaufman, Marilyn McConnell, Ray and Sonia McGowan, Mike and Sandy McManus, Brooke Megrue, Ted and Dawn Michael, Cliff^ and Sheridan Morris, Bob and Susan Morrison, Wally and Peggy Nelson, Jay Newman and Elissa Kramer, Bobbie Olsen, Don and Connie Patterson, Pat and Ed Pavlish, Michael and Kathie^ Pierce, Helen Post, Ted and Carol Price, John and Barbara Reed, Bill and Peg Regan, Michael and Anne Rhoads, Bob and Karen Ritter, John Roberts and Juli Blunt, Mary and Randy Rogers, Randy and Sandy Rolf, Ron and Nancy Rosner, Bill and Judy^ Schneebeck, Van Schreiber, Virginia and Warren Schwerin, Ned and Emily Sherwood, Dick and Nancy Shoemate, Anna Bain Slater, Joe and Mary Alice Smith, Stephanie Smith, Dick and Stephanie Solar, Charlotte Stifel, Bill and Carolyn Stutt, Doug and Dhuanne Tansill, John and Tobey Taylor, Charlie and Sue Thomas, Janet Tribus, Marjorie P. Turley, Steve and Anne Warhover, Heidi Waxlax, Lorne Waxlax, Pat and Carol Welsh, Liz and Ken Whitney, Gail D. Williams                                                                                                               ^ deceased

The 22-23 Season is sponsored by: Wilmington Trust, Noteworthy by Design, ONE Sotheby’s International Realty, Northern Trust, Vatland Honda, Cypress Bank, Star Suites, Nelson Morgan Wealth Management – Merrill Lynch, Vero Fitness, PNC Private Bank, Vero’s Voice and Treasure & Space Coast Radio (WGYL, JACK FM, Ocean FM, B94, WTTB).

Riverside Theatre is located at 3250 Riverside Park Drive, Vero Beach, FL 32963. Riverside Theatre programs are sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Riverside Theatre is a member of the Cultural Council of Indian River County, the Indian River Chamber of Commerce, and the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Mamet was born in Chicago in 1947. He studied at Goddard College in Vermont and at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theater in New York. He has taught at Goddard College, the Yale Drama School and New York University and lectures at New York’s Atlantic Theater Company, of which he is a founding member. He is the author of the plays The Cryptogram, Oleanna, Speed-The-Plow, Glengarry Glen Ross, American Buffalo, and Sexual Perversity In Chicago. He has also written screenplays for such films as “House of Games” and the Oscar-nominated “The Verdict,” as well as “The Spanish Prisoner,” “The Winslow Boy,” and “Wag the Dog.” His plays have won the Pulitzer Prize and the Obie Award.

Tiffany Bent
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