Oleanna

It has been said that art mirrors life, and life imitates TV. But after seeing the riveting revival of Oleanna, this critic begs to differ. The production of David Mamet’s drama, featuring an excellent Bill Pullman and an even better Julia Stiles, is much more entertaining, stimulating and thought-provoking than anything featured on prime-time TV this season.First performed in 1992 in a response to the wave of political correctness sweeping the country, the plot of Oleanna revolves around a college student named Carol (solidly played by Julia Stiles in her Broadway debut) who accuses John, her professor, of sexual harassment. The play was first produced off-Broadway immediately following the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas court case, which provoked dialogue about harassment at the workplace.Sexual harassment could be described as the main source of conflict in Oleanna, but the performances in this production render that dismissal impossible. Both Pullman and Stiles bring so much depth to their performances, revealing so much about the inner workings of their characters, that it is almost impossible to decide what the actual source of conflict is. With every scene, the possibilities abound and multiply.Carol first goes to John for help in his class, which she is on the verge of failing. After about one minute, it is easy to see why she would be in this situation, because John is a man seemingly unable to finish a single sentence, let alone deliver an informative lecture. Despite her repeated statements of, “I don’t understand,” he is distracted from his conversation with Carol by numerous phone calls, and when Carol urges him to leave, he tells her he will stay to help her because he likes her. The audience also learns John is on the verge of being awarded tenure by the university. We later learn that Carol has filed a complaint with the tenure committee, complaining about John’s teaching methods and charging him with attempted sexual harassment. Baffled by complaint, John attempts to find common ground with her and the two face off in a viscous war of words.Carol and John are the only characters in Oleanna and the show’s success depends on the actors’ ability to connect – or, in this case, not connect. Even though Carol and John talk nonstop for the entire 80 minutes of the show, it is clear the two exist on entirely different planes. John thought he was being kind by offering to help Carol, but she thought he was trying to take advantage of her sexually. Carol thought John was a horrible teacher, while he clearly considers his lengthy pontifications educational and enlightening. It is when John grabs Carol’s arm in an attempt to stop her from leaving his office that the differences between the two become truly dangerous and Carol accuses him of attempted rape.It’s impossible to leave a performance of Oleanna without feeling at least somewhat confused. With no clear-cut answers coming from the show, the question of who to side with remains unanswered. Neither of these characters is likable in any way, but it is easy to see how they could end up in the situation they do. As John, Pullman’s narcissistic, self-deprecating performance is excellent in every way. Pompous and arrogant (and apparently with no reason why), he is not a likeable character, urging Carol to speak her mind and proceeding to interrupt her the moment she pauses. After just a few minutes of watching Carol struggle to converse with him, this critic felt pity for the young woman who would no doubt be paying off student loans later in life for classes with a teacher like that. But as he progresses into desperation and then loses all hope for his future, one can’t help but feel for the haggard man in the wrinkled shirt, at the mercy of an apparently ruthless young woman.Stile’s Carol is no less impressive, delivering a carefully paced, powerful performance. She tries to appear made of steel, but she reveals cracks of vulnerability as the show progresses. Even as she spouts furious rants at John, accusing him of abusing his power as a professor and as a man, one wonders whether she decided on her own to press charges or if she was urged to by a lawyer. After the curtain fell, this critic found herself wondering about Carol's upbringing and her past relationships with men, wondering where her anger came from and why she chose John as her target.Despite the years that have passed since its debut on stage, Mamet’s play still resonates strongly with the audience. With the Letterman sex scandal fresh in our mind and the Monica Lewinsky story permanently etched into our country’s history, sexual harassment and power struggles between men and women will unfortunately, always provoke questions and dialogue. There will always be a Carol and a John, no matter how hard we try to get rid of them.