Line #1 Theatre/SpeedThePlow

Context Theatre / SpeedThePlow

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1	[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/speed_the_plow.jpg]]
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3	''Speed-the-Plow'' is a satirical play written by Creator/DavidMamet, and a noted dissection of the American film industry. Along with ''Film/GlengarryGlenRoss'', it is one of Mamet's most famous works.
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5	It follows the journey of Hollywood mid-level producer Bobby Gould over the course of twenty-four hours, as he ponders whether to recommend to his boss another bad blockbuster-to-be or put himself on the line for a film adaptation of a spiritually-centered novel about the apocalypse. Waging the battle for his decision are his longtime friend and fellow producer Charlie Fox and cute office temp Karen, who is more than she seems.
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7	The original 1988 Broadway production was nominated for Best Play and Best Direction of a Play at the Tony Awards, but received most of its media attention for being the Broadway debut of Music/{{Madonna}}, who starred as Karen along with Creator/JoeMantegna as Bobby Gould and Creator/RonSilver as Charlie Fox.
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9	In 2008 a revival opened on Broadway starring Creator/JeremyPiven as Bobby Gould, Creator/RaulEsparza as Charlie Fox, and Creator/ElisabethMoss as Karen. When Piven left the production "for medical reasons" midway through, he was succeeded in the role first by Nobert Leo Butz, and then by Creator/WilliamHMacy, who'd previously played the role of "The Interrogator" in the play's 1989 one-act sequel ''Bobby Gould in Hell''. The same year, it was revived in London by the Old Vic Theatre, with Creator/JeffGoldblum as Bobby, Creator/KevinSpacey as Charlie, and Laura Michelle Kelly as Karen.
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12	!!This play includes examples of:
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14	* {{Epigraph}} - "Which is the most reasonable, and does his duty best: he who stands aloof from the struggle of life, calmly contemplating it, or he who descends to the ground, and takes his part in the contest?"
15	* TheGhost - Mr. Ross
16	%%* HorribleHollywood
17	* LiteraryAllusionTitle - Well, sorta. There is an 18th century English play by Thomas Morton called ''Speed-the-Plough'', but [[WordOfGod Mamet states]] that he is unfamiliar with that piece. The title is attributed as a reference to the phrase "Industry produces wealth, God speed the plow".
18	%%* MametSpeak
19	%%* MinimalistCast
20	* OurActsAreDifferent - The play is performed in three long scenes with no intermission.
21	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism - Don't let it fool you; the play might fool you into thinking it's going one way, but in the end, [[spoiler: it falls firmly on the cynical side.]]

Context Theatre / SpeedThePlow