Piven To Star In Mamet's 'Speed', Pepe Will Direct

 In addition to his revival productions of 'American Buffalo', the New York Times is reporting that playwright David Mamet will have a second revival of his 1988 play 'Speed The Plow' The production will open on October 23rd and star Jeremy Piven, a native of Chicago who supposedly knew Mamet and is currently in the HBO series "Entourage". Atlantic Theater Company Artistic Director Neil Pepe is set to direct.

"Speed-the-Plow (1988) is an acclaimed play by David Mamet which is a satirical dissection of the American movie business, a theme Mamet would revisit in his later films Wag the Dog (1997) and State and Main (2000).

Hollywood producers Bobby Gould and Charlie Fox engage in a verbal boxing match centered around the eternal debate of art versus money. Should Gould go for another bad action blockbuster? Or should he put himself on the line for a film adaptation of a spiritual, apocalyptic novel?" describe press notes.

Speed-the-Plow was first performed by the Lincoln Center Theater at the Royale Theater, Broadway, New York, in 1988, with a cast of Joe Mantegna (Gould), Ron Silver (Fox) and Madonna (Karen). The play was nominated for a Tony Award for Play of the Year. Silver won a Tony Award for Best Actor (Play). It has since been produced countless times in regional theaters and schools across the country. A 2006 revival in Los Angeles featured Alicia Silverstone as Karen.

The play is currently running in London at the Old Vic Theatre starring Jeff Goldblum and Kevin Spacey. Although this production was rumored to be coming to Broadway, the Times reports that this revival is not at all associated with what is running in London.