Race is a tinderbox subject that can either get people thinking or completely blow up in everyone’s face. That’s why most playwrights steer clear of the four-letter word in their work. Except when that playwright is Pulitzer Prize-winning badass David Mamet. He’s known for his scalpel-sharp wit and cutting dialogue, and his 2009 play Race, opening Saturday at GableStage at the Biltmore (1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables), takes a blunt look at black and white relations in a confrontational and explosive story that stimulates deep thought and starts difficult conversation. Three attorneys — one white and two black — are called to defend a rich white man charged with a heinous crime against a black woman. Like most of Mamet’s plays, the story is witty, honest, intelligent, and filled with F-bombs. And as in most of his plays, the richly drawn characters and the intensity of the subject matter will leave you dizzy. Taught and suspenseful, Race is sure to provoke conversation while entertaining you with a thrilling story.
Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 & 7 p.m. Starts: July 7. Continues through Aug. 5, 2012