David Mamet’s Oleanna premiered in May 1992, as the first production of Mamet’s Back Bay Theater Company in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The debut featured William H. Macy as John, an aloof and pretentious academic, and Rebecca Pidgeon as Carol, his student. After a successful first run, the play would go on to appear Off Broadway at New York's Orpheum Theatre, with Macy and Pidgeon reprising their roles.
A year later, in 1993, the play moved to London, where it opened at the Royal Court Theatre. Directed by Harold Pinter, a giant of the theater world, the play starred David Suchet as John and Lia Williams as Carol. In 1994, a film adaptation directed by Mamet was released, starring Macy again as John and Debra Eisenstadt as Carol. Unlike the play, however, the film faced lackluster reviews and a poor performance at the box office. Since then, revivals of the play have been staged in London, New York, and Tel Aviv.
Opening a year after the Anita Hill hearings, the play was a controversial hit. The Hill hearings, which took place during Justice Clarence Thomas’ Supreme Court nomination process, centered around Hill’s allegations of sexual harassment against Thomas while she was employed by him. For many, the interrogatory and dismissive tone struck by many of the senators was emblematic of the country’s attitude toward allegations of sexual harassment and assault.
With Oleanna, Mamet jumped headfirst into the middle of this cultural debate. Set behind the closed doors of John’s office, the three-act play focuses on a series of conversations between John and Carol. During the course of the dialogue, an incident of sexual harassment either does or does not occur, depending on your outlook. The incident leads to an escalating conflict between John and Carol, in which the school's administration becomes entangled. Since its debut, the play’s ambivalent approach to sexual harassment has made it relevant again and again in international conversations on the topic.
