A powerful two-character drama about a fortysomething college professor, who is confronted by a female student failing his course. The provocative power struggle exposes the destructiveness of miscommunication and excessive political correctness.
This drama is an explosive two-character power struggle between a university professor and a student failing his course. When the student confronts the professor (who is up for tenure), a breakdown in communication results in an outrageous accusation and a range of emotions from confusion to pity to rage. Written as a response to the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill hearings in 1992, this work is often cited as being about sexual harassment and political correctness, though the playwright leaves many questions unanswered.
""A gripping new production. Oleanna has lost none of its provocative power and is bound to inspire animated conversations long after the curtain falls.""
USA Today
Elysa Gardner
""Oleanna is incendiary and inflammatory, brusing and fascinating. The linguistic pyrotechnics of Playwright David Mamet are on full display. It's a difficult play to pull off, but Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles, under the precise, careful direction of Doug Hughes, make the most of Mamet's seemingly imprecise language.""
Associated Press
Michael Kuchwara
""The ultimate he-said, she-said drama.""
The New York Times
Ben Brantley