Mamet on Politics

With impeccable timing, the Hampton Theatre Company in Quogue will open its 2016-2017 season with “November,” David Mamet’s scathing satire on American presidential politics, next Thursday evening at 7. The play will run through Nov. 6.

As relevant today as when it premiered on Broadway in 2008, “November” visits the first-term president Charles Smith during the week before Election Day. With approval ratings near zero and without the support of his re-election committee, he is running out of money and his wife is preparing to leave him. Grim as things appear, President Smith hopes the traditional presidential pardon of the Thanksgiving turkey can save his candidacy.

The play features Mr. Mamet’s trademark politically incorrect, profanity-laden style in its characterization of the egomania, moral elasticity, and hunger for power that drive electoral politics. 

Show times are Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 8, and Sundays at 2:30. An additional matinee has been scheduled for Nov. 5. Tickets are $30, $25 for senior citizens (except on Saturdays), $15 for those under 35, and $10 for students under 21.