Photo Flash: RACE Makes Its West Coast Premiere at A.C.T.

The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) 2011-12 season continues with David Mamet's newest play, Race, directed by former CENTERSTAGE Artistic Director Irene Lewis. Fresh from a triumphant run on Broadway, Mamet's wicked and scathing courtroom comedy makes its West Coast premiere at A.C.T. With his trademark verbal pyrotechnics, Mamet unleashes two attorneys and the firm's young associate as they scramble to decide if they want to represent a wealthy white man accused of assaulting a black woman.

Race lures us into an enthralling web where "the dialogue is tasty, the confrontations spiky, and the observations more than occasionally biting" (Variety). In signature Mamet style, the play pushes buttons, exposing the dark underbelly of sexual and racial politics in the American justice system. Lewis helms an accomplished cast of four, who will take on Mamet's fast-paced linguistic acrobatics, including Chris Butler (110 Degrees in the Shade on Broadway), A.C.T. core Acting Company member Anthony Fusco (November, Clybourne Park, and The Homecoming at A.C.T., Candida at CalShakes), Susan Heyward (Ruined at Manhattan Theatre Club, Sabrina Fair at Ford Theatre), and Kevin O'Rourke (Boardwalk Empire on HBO, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof on Broadway).

Race performs October 21-November 13, 2011, at the American Conservatory Theater (415 Geary Street, San Francisco). Press nights are Wednesday, October 26, 2011, at 8 p.m. and Thursday, October 27, 2011, at 8 p.m. Tickets (starting at $10) are available by calling the A.C.T. Box Office at 415.749.2228 or at act-sf.org.

Photo Credit: Kevin Berne