2010 Tony nominee David Alan Grier and film star Kerry Washington will play their final performance in the Broadway production of David Mamet’s Race on June 13, while Emmy winner James Spader will depart the cast following the June 20 performance.

The play, directed by Mamet, has also announced that it will now close at the Barrymore Theatre on Saturday, August 21, rather than the previously reported August 23. The current cast also features Richard Thomas. Replacement casting will be announced at a later date.

In the play, three attorneys, two black and one white, are offered a chance to defend a white man charged with a crime against a black woman.

The production features sets by Santo Loquasto, lighting design by Brian Macdevitt, and costumes by Tom Broecker. As recently reported, the play recouped its investment.

From Theater Mania

The Broadway run of David Mamet’s Race, starring James Spader, David Alan Grier, Kerry Washington and Richard Thomas, has been extended to Aug. 23 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.

The playwright directed the world-premiere production that opened on Broadway Dec. 6 and was originally scheduled to close June 13. Producers announced April 21 that the production had recouped its entire $2.5 million investment.

According to producers, “three attorneys, two black and one white, are offered a chance to defend a white man charged with a crime against a black woman.”

Mamet elaborated on the plot in an interview with the New York Times. “In my play a firm made up of three lawyers, two black and one white, is offered the chance to defend a white man charged with a crime against a black young woman. It is a play about lies. All drama is about lies. When the lie is exposed, the play is over.”

From Playbill