Spotlight on Plays: November

There’s a new project set up to raise money for The Actors Fund from Broadway’s Best Shows called Spotlight on Plays. These will be live, one-night-only readings of plays. The series launches with a reading of David Mamet’s 2008 play, November. You can watch this reading tonight, May 7th, at 8PM EDT/5 PM PDT on the Broadway’s Best Shows YouTube and Facebook pages as well as The Actors Fund YouTube channel.

Starring in the reading of November are John Malkovich, Patti LuPone, Dylan Baker, Ethan Phillips and Michael Nichols. The production is directed by Mamet.

November is a satire about President Charles Smith. It’s an election year and if the polling is correct, he stands a good chance of not being re-elected. Why? The economy is tanking and the country just might be on the cusp of a nuclear war.

When the play ran on Broadway, Baker, Phillips and Nicholas were part of the original cast. LuPone has appeared in three Mamet plays: The Water Engine, The Old Neighborhood and The Anarchist. There has been discussion of an all-female Glengarry Glen Ross, but those plans have yet to be solidified. Malkovich appeared last year in Mamet’s Bitter Wheat in London.

The recently launched Broadway’s Best Shows is a content-driven website that celebrates all things Broadway.

Broadway’s Best Shows will continue Spotlight on Plays on May 14th with a live reading of Joshua Harmon’s Significant Other featuring the original Broadway cast. On May 21st, Bryan Cranston and Sally Field will read A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters.

Photo of Patti LuPone courtesy of Broadway.com