Theater Review : A Seething ‘Oleanna’ at the Old Globe

The Old Globe Theatre’s angry, throbbing production of David Mamet’s “Oleanna” proves the play has earned the rage generated since it opened Off-Broadway last year.

A female student accuses a male professor of sexual harassment. At first, over a series of three meetings, you think the student is crazy to interpret harassment in their admittedly tense exchanges.

Then, as you hear her pain, you think maybe she has a point. Then, when she makes conditions for removing her career-busting complaints, you wonder if this wasn’t a case of blackmail from the beginning.

“Oleanna” plays in Anita Hill and Paula Jones territory. Did he or didn’t he? Are we in the realm of actions, interpretation of actions or ambush?

Is the play part of an anti-feminist, anti-political correctness backlash or has Mamet put his finger on the pulse of power--who has it, how to get it?

The Old Globe production stars William Anton as John and Kathleen Dennehy as Carol. They are terrific. Artistic director Jack O’Brien, fresh from the breezy and romantic “Damn Yankees” on Broadway, astonishes with his ability to expose every nerve. It’s a fast-paced squash game--with the ball bouncing off walls from every direction.

Anton delivers a strong, layered performance, moving from complacency to fury as his adversary sends his walls tumbling down. But it’s Dennehy, daughter of actor Brian Dennehy, who saves her part from shrill rhetoric. With long, expressive fingers fluttering like the broken wings of a bird and a voice that summons anguish up from seemingly bottomless depths, she makes you care about this lost soul even as she makes the man pay out of proportion to his crimes.

The play has weaknesses. Once she accuses him of rape, can we still believe this is misinterpretation? Then there’s her offer to drop charges if he will ban a list of books. The list could have been used as proof of blackmail.

Still, the production itself is as good as can be. While the show would have been more in-your-face in a smaller theater, Robert Brill’s set tells its own tale with walls that extend up like the conflict, with no end in sight. David C. Woolard’s costuming suggests the rending class conflict while Ashley York Kennedy’s lighting humanizes the whole.

And, in the end, if good theater stimulates debate, then this is good theater. There will be a free discussion panel about sexual harassment at the Old Globe Monday at 7 p.m. For reservations, call (619) 231-1941, Ext. 2201.

* “Oleanna,” Old Globe Theatre, Balboa Park, San Diego. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sat.-Sun. matinees, 2 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends June 26. $23-$34. (619) 239-2255. Running time: 1 hour, 38 minutes.