Actor Marc Grapey talks Mamet’s ‘Race’ at the Goodman, audience members putting their feet on the stage and more

Actor Marc Grapey talks Mamet’s ‘Race’ at the Goodman, audience members putting their feet on the stage and more
Flickr/Richie Diesterheft
Actor Marc Grapey talks Mamet’s ‘Race’ at the Goodman, audience members putting their feet on the stage and more
Flickr/Richie Diesterheft

Actor Marc Grapey talks Mamet’s ‘Race’ at the Goodman, audience members putting their feet on the stage and more

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You know how sometimes you see a play in Chicago and think, “From now on, I’ll see whatever that actor’s in. I don’t care what it’s called, I don’t care who wrote it.” That’s the way I felt seeing Marc for the first time on stage last year as Jerry in Edward Albee’s At Home at the Zoo at Victory Gardens. And I kicked myself for missing everything he’d been in beforehand, not to mention the epic two-part Cider House Rules he directed with David Cromer several years ago.

Now, Grapey stars in David Mamet’s Race at the Goodman. Mamet has described the play (in previews now and officially opening Jan. 23) as a courtroom drama without the courtroom. But it’s also, of course, a lot more, including a caustic dialogue about our inability to  talk honestly about, or find justice in, matters involving race. Here, Grapey does a much better job than me talking about the play — and also weighs in on Mamet’s politics, cell phones ringing during the show, audience members’ feet on stage and more.