‘The Anarchist’ Closes December 16 After 17 Showings

David Mamet’s two-person play “The Anarchist” is set to close December 16 after only 17 regular performances and 23 preview performances.

The New York Times points out that the closing is the fastest for a name playwright on Broadway in several years.

The play stars Debra Winger and Patti LuPone, and opened to lukewarm to negative reviews when it held its premiere this past Sunday. Many critics wondered at the time if the 70 minute was long enough for a Broadway play.

“’Anarchist’: Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet’s new play about one woman who is put away for life, and another who is committed to making her stay put,” reads the play’s official website. The play is essentially an extended philosophical conversation between the two women for the entirety of the running time of the show. The plays at the John Golden Theatre.

The play is Mamet’s second play currently running on Broadway – the other is a revival of his own “Glengarry Glen Ross” starring Al Pacino, which currently is in extended preview performances.

Mamet’s most recent original play on Broadway was “Race,” which closed in 2010 after 297 performances. However, his revival of “Life in the Theater” – also staged in 2010 – closed after few performances, as did his 2008 revival of “American Buffalo,” which lasted only 20 previews and eight performances. The latter production starred John Leguizamo, Haley Joel Osment and Cedric the Entertainer.

Mamet won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 for “Glengarry Glen Ross.” He has written and directed a number of feature films, including “State and Main,” “Homicide,” “The Verdict” “Redbelt” and “House of Games.” He also wrote the screenplay for many films, including “Wag the Dog,” “The Untouchables,” “Hoffa,” “The Edge” and “Hannibal.” He received Academy Award nominations for both “Wag the Dog” and “The Verdict.”