Rating: 
Summary: Envy, Greed, and Political Correctness
Review: I have seen three separate productions of David Mamet's controversial two-hander "Oleanna", and the audience has been driven into polarized frenzy each time. Mamet correctly assumes that the engines that drive contemporary society are envy and greed, and his corrosive attack on the verbal manipulations of political correctness is razor-sharp. Mamet's use of language is extraordinary and in this play -- for a change -- the characters are educated, white-collar academics, not filthy-mouthed lowlifes. Obscenity, however, takes many forms. Do yourself a favour: when you take this book home, READ IT ALOUD with someone else. You will discover that "Oleanna" is a passionate, provocative, and powerful piece of theatre.
Rating:
Summary: I admit...
Review: I'm not an ardent Mamet fan. Indeed, I saw 'Glengarry Glen Ross' the movie, and read the play, and was still unconvinced. sure, the guy has a talent for making it seem real, but what happens when the plotline is just so .. dull .. that you can't sit through it? That is not the case in "Oleanna". I bought this book because I'd not had a lot of experience with Mamet, and the premise of the play rather startled my curiosity. I sat down and read the first act and sighed, thinking I'd wasted my money. The second act I started sitting up. By the end of the third, I'd began saying "Oh my god." to myself, and had to read the last few paragraphs over again, feeling like I'd missed something. Didn't find it, so read back a little more. I had to completely re-read this before I was completely amazed and enthralled, and consequently ordered "The Cryptogram," by Mamet. Oleanna examines the very fibre of social interaction, tears it apart, and leaves a single nerve vibrating tremulously in the air, raw and scathed to the very filaments. It's absolutely amazing. I have not seen the movie, but it stars William H. Macy, one of my favourite actors, and am greatly looking forward to renting it!
Rating:
Summary: I admit...
Review: I'm not an ardent Mamet fan. Indeed, I saw 'Glengarry Glen Ross' the movie, and read the play, and was still unconvinced. sure, the guy has a talent for making it seem real, but what happens when the plotline is just so .. dull .. that you can't sit through it? That is not the case in "Oleanna". I bought this book because I'd not had a lot of experience with Mamet, and the premise of the play rather startled my curiosity. I sat down and read the first act and sighed, thinking I'd wasted my money. The second act I started sitting up. By the end of the third, I'd began saying "Oh my god." to myself, and had to read the last few paragraphs over again, feeling like I'd missed something. Didn't find it, so read back a little more. I had to completely re-read this before I was completely amazed and enthralled, and consequently ordered "The Cryptogram," by Mamet. Oleanna examines the very fibre of social interaction, tears it apart, and leaves a single nerve vibrating tremulously in the air, raw and scathed to the very filaments. It's absolutely amazing. I have not seen the movie, but it stars William H. Macy, one of my favourite actors, and am greatly looking forward to renting it!
Rating: 
Summary: Difficulties of Mametspeak
Review: If you read this play on your own you risk to loose the red line, because there are a lot of interrupted sentences. At the beginning you get no introduction. So you can only guess what happens. Nevertheless the further you read on the more you realize the problems of the two persons. Mamet picked up a very actual topic about sexual harrasment and misusing of higher positions. I can recommend the play for those who are interested in gender discussions.
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Summary: Power of Feminists
Review: In my opinion the play shows exactly the reality if a feminist and her group accuse a man for sexual harrassment. Every word a man says can be turned into the typical use for accusations of a feminist. The harmless student and the harmless situation in the office turned into a provocative, dangerous, uncomfortable and cruel process of blackmailing a professor with the power of feminists. The outcome is unknown due to open end of the play.
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Summary: Mamet's taut tale of political correctness gone awry.
Review: It begins innocently: a distracted male professor meets with a female student to discuss her grade. But a series of verbal missteps sends both characters into a conflict neither has asked for. Or have they? Mamet creates a twisting performance where predator and prey shift in this brilliant explosion of all our assumptions regarding sexual politics and the risks of communication. This is a thriller that will both amaze and trouble you
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Summary: Oleanna: virulent, tense, political correctness run amuck.
Review: It is an unfortunate truth: political correctness-sometimes but not always-overrides education. For a while, it has been extremely detrimental-inside as well as outside of the academic community-a fact Mamet has obviously noticed. For some people, whether they be students, educators or the general citizenary, it has become a tool to elevate their social and political standing, while for others, it has become a loaded weapon in order to inflict character assassination and injure deep-seated Constitutional rights, whether consciously or unconsciously. Something that is meant to refine an education-if it is not done to a ridiculously abnormal degree-can enhance the emotional senses, the perception (although sensing is a more inborn ability). However, when the general essence of civility becomes radically altered due to an excessive fusion with social politicking, it ceases to be civility. Rather, it becomes something else entirely. And when that happens, that is when the absurdity of overindulgent social commentary arises. A war of genuine verses pseudo intellectualism erupts, clashes, leaving in its wake bitterness, hubristic and sympathetic condescension and a widened communication gap. David Mamet presents to his readers and audience the pros and cons of political correctness: the necessity and lunacy of it. Oleanna is a play with no middle ground; it is black or white, cut and dry. Period. It is the responsibility of the readers and audience to create the middle ground, to alleviate the extremity of the bipolar divisiveness. It is the audience and readers who must apply what they have just seen or read to the daily grind of life. The people are the workers, the ones who must create the compromises so that atmospheres-everywhere-do not resemble that of the Salem witch trials. Militant political correctnes, as presented in the latter half of Oleanna is authoritarian, oppressive and very palpably harmful. (Read pages 78-79.) Those excerpts, though admittedly extreme, are only a half of a wider issue that Mamet is trying to present. The other half is represented on pages 71 and 74. The extremes of both characters are quite stark-powerful in their own right-because the evolving situations have given them that. The Carol character doesn't simply want understanding as a person and student. She wants understanding of the academic material, literally, not the subtle partisan undertones that he (the professorial character of John) is blending into his teachings and pawning off as academic truth. In doing that, he ceases to be an educator, but altogether evolves into something entirely different: a fraud with unlimited power. When that evolution occurs, it needs to be corrected. In Oleanna, both characters need to be corrected. Ultimately, I believe they are. Oleanna is a great work of drama: honed, straightforward and sincere. Both halves of the same circle are equally discussed and probed.
Rating:
Summary: David Mamet's Masterpiece
Review: Known most for his unique drama "Glengarry Glen Ross," David Mamet has written another masterpiece of a play. "Oleanna" is an unforgettable play that will leave you unsure of who's side you're on until the last remaining moments that will stay with you for a long time. The story is very simple, or it starts out simple. It all starts as an innocent meeting between a school teacher and his female student. He knows there's been problems with her doing well in the class, so he offers to help. Then before you know it, everything goes to hell and shortly there are accusations of sexism, abuse of power, and sexual harassment. This is play that will mess with your head, leaving you unsure of who is in the right, if any of them are. I was hooked from the very first page. As soon as I started, I couldn't put it down, and I had no idea of where it was heading. What's great is that it reads very quickly. It's short but accomplishes what it's trying to do. Once again Mamet has a talent of capturing human behavior and reflecting it back through his writing. He can take the simplest conflict and magnify it a hundred times. And once again he is able to catch us off guard when it counts the most. "Oleanna" is a must-read for anyone who enjoys reading plays, or just reading in general. Like I said, it's very short so chances are that as soon as you start it you'll be able to finish it in no time. You'll be sad when it's over so quickly, but will be happy to re-read it again and again. A terrific masterpiece that is beautifully written and structured on every front, David Mamet's "Oleanna" is a breathtaking read.
Rating:
Summary: David Mamet's Masterpiece
Review: Known most for his unique drama "Glengarry Glen Ross," David Mamet has written another masterpiece of a play. "Oleanna" is an unforgettable play that will leave you unsure of who's side you're on until the last remaining moments that will stay with you for a long time. The story is very simple, or it starts out simple. It all starts as an innocent meeting between a school teacher and his female student. He knows there's been problems with her doing well in the class, so he offers to help. Then before you know it, everything goes to hell and shortly there are accusations of sexism, abuse of power, and sexual harassment. This is play that will mess with your head, leaving you unsure of who is in the right, if any of them are. I was hooked from the very first page. As soon as I started, I couldn't put it down, and I had no idea of where it was heading. What's great is that it reads very quickly. It's short but accomplishes what it's trying to do. Once again Mamet has a talent of capturing human behavior and reflecting it back through his writing. He can take the simplest conflict and magnify it a hundred times. And once again he is able to catch us off guard when it counts the most. "Oleanna" is a must-read for anyone who enjoys reading plays, or just reading in general. Like I said, it's very short so chances are that as soon as you start it you'll be able to finish it in no time. You'll be sad when it's over so quickly, but will be happy to re-read it again and again. A terrific masterpiece that is beautifully written and structured on every front, David Mamet's "Oleanna" is a breathtaking read.
Rating:
Summary: I like Mamet!
Review: Mamet is by far one of the best play wrights of our time. His powerful use of language and his ability to twist a knife in the hearts of those who watch and read his plays is truly powerful.In this particular play, Mamet takes a look at sexual harassment in the work place in a very different way. In Oleanna, there are two charaters. There is John, the bumbling professor who's extensive vocabulary and good intentions bring him to an inevetable demise.Then there is Carol, a twenty year old student who is struggling in John's class. At first we see Carol as an innocent student, who is trying to understand why she is failing the class. After the two's first meeting, things become horribly wrong. A deeply disturbing play; Mamet's ability to twist the meaning of words is amazing.
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