Spinning Into Butter

by Rebecca Gilman

Set on a college campus in Vermont, Spinning into Butter is a new play by a major young American playwright that explores the dangers of both racism and political correctness in America today in a manner that is at once profound, disturbing, darkly comic, and deeply cathartic. Rebecca Gilman challenges our preconceptions about race relations, writing of a liberal dean of students named Sarah Daniels who investigates the pinning of anonymous, clearly racist letters on the door of one of the college's few African American students. The stunning discovery that there is a virulent racist on campus forces Sarah, along with other faculty members and students, to explore her feelings about racism, leading to surprising discoveries and painful insights that will rivet and provoke the reader as perhaps no play since David Mamet's Oleanna has done.

Spinning into Butter had its world premiere at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago in May 1999 and will open at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center in New York in April 2000.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Theatre, Fiction, Read For School, Audiobook

112 pages, Paperback

First published August 7, 2000

Reviews

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This play tricks you. You think it's going to be a revealing and blunt discussion about how white people feel about their own racism and how they get called out on try to tell its story. But that's precisely what the play is. The central character - a black student who, it turns out, had been sending racist notes to HIMSELF - never gets a voice and the lead character - an admittedly racist white woman - seems to "save" him in the end. GAH!

[Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

This play is lauded as starting the great dialogue on racism. But very few people of color are represented in the play, or given voice. And, SPOILER ALERT -- the hate crime is "committed" by the student of color who originally reports it, creating an ugly white fantasy. Stupid that Gilman should be given so much credit she doesn't deserve for this one.

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and unflinching look at racism in higher ed.

[Marzenka Collins · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring, talks about racism with only one non-Caucasian character given voice
Would rather poke my eyes with forks than read it again
P.S. Petra, really?

[Bob Foote · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just went to see Swing State at the Goodman and I loved it so I decided to try reading some of Gilmans other plays. This one was good but pretty talky. Wondering if it would be different as a performance.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not at all familiar with this play before reading it. Gilman's name sounded familiar but I couldn't name anything she'd written. I am sure that will change for me.

Judging simply by the title, I suspected that this play would deal with racial issues and I admit to having second thoughts because I just wasn't looking for a didactic lesson on race. Fortunately, what I got was not a lesson on race but a lesson on racism. And...surprise, surprise...from a "white" perspective! How novel! How daring! And, being Caucasian, it actually reached me in a way that a play never has before.

The play is about one individual on a college campus who is forced to face her own feelings of racism. Outward, she appears level-headed, intelligent, and very sympathetic to racial issues. But of course sympathy is perhaps not the right emotion to have. Inward, the woman struggles with her views on 'blacks' and admits that one of the reasons she took a job at a college in Vermont was to get away from the black population.

One of the most beautiful aspects of this play is that it takes a major issue, and brings it in to focus through one individual -- and a likable individual! It forces us to look at ourselves and how similar we may be to this character.

There are no clear answers, only lots of soul-searching questions, but the play does end with a spark of promise.

A really fantastic script.

[Rachelle Urist · Rating 4 out of 5]

The work is sharp, consuming, and surprisingly hip for a play steeped in academic jargon. It is compared, on the book jacket, to David Mamet's OLEANNA. I liked OLEANNA enormously, but I think this is the better play. Unlike OLEANNA, which is about sexual harrassment, this play is about racial tensions. It takes place on campus (in one office, to be precise), but it's about racial tensions in the larger arena, too. It's incisive, cuts to the chase, and is an eye-opener. bluntly calling out the would-be tolerant folks for being patronizing, more than "tolerant." The central character, the most sympathetic of the lot, is the one hardest on herself and the one who gets the short end of the stick. A wonderful play. Couldn't put it down. Read it in one sitting.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a letdown. At the begining of the play I sort of liked it. Then as it went on, almost all of the characters became unlikeable. There were some scenes where things were said that really surprised me. They were uncofortable statements, only because they came out of nowhere, and because of which characters they were comming out of. Only one or two of them remained likable, and they were in it the least. One plot point in my oppinion went nowhere. Characters are mentioned that may have brought some new life to it, but they never appear. The race subject became very preachy.

[Allison Barnes · Rating 1 out of 5]

I haven't read a story with such unlikable characters in a long time. The dialogue was contrived and flat, and there was absolutely no depth to anyone. The relationship between Sarah and Ross was ridiculous, and I didn't care about them whatsoever - and continued to not care about anyone throughout the entire 112 pages. It truly sounded like it was going to be a well-plotted work, and could have actually gone somewhere, but I didn't find a single redeeming point in the entire drama.

[Tessyohnka · Rating 3 out of 5]

The characters are difficult, some relationships questionable, but there was substance enough to require some thinking/examination. Her use of the Yeats quote is thought provoking and she adds nice touches of humor. It isn't so much about racism as it is about the way whites choose to own up to whatever racism exists within. And while it is troubling when we learn the identity of the perpetrator of the hate crime, it leads us to a possibly important reaction from the central character.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great play about a racist attack and the insuing PR circus acts to maintain the idilic rural Vermont liberal college town feel. Some great characters, that add humor to this subject, that might make this otherwise feel like a 'message' play. Gilman is a fantastic writer and through out uses metaphors from Little Black Sambo in this story. I would want to teach this in a freshman comp 101 class.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This play touched on some things that I don't believe I've seen talked about before and I thought it was important that the issue was dealt with, but I did wish that it was more drawn out and there was maybe some more resolution, but I love Rebecca Gilman as a playwright and she writes, or at least I think, very strong-willed female characters that I can appreciate.

[Izetta Autumn · Rating 2 out of 5]

An examination of race at an elite private college - the central character is a white woman dealing with guilt and misunderstandings of race. Sarah Jessica Parker was rumored to have purchased the rights to this and to have made it into a movie for HBO.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know it's a play ... but so is Shakespeare!

A great examination of perception and the crazy loops it puts us through. Feeling versus social consciousness versss morality. It's all here .... And you can read it in 45 minutes.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miami needs to do this play. Questions of racism have never been so frankly discussed on our campus as they are in Gilman's play. It is not the most eloquent in dialogue, characterization, etc, but the message is clear, crisp, biting and refreshing. It leaves you with both frustration and hope.

[Georgia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just read this book. It is funny but the point is so very important when it comes to issues of race of identity.

[Jase · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was interesting

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great play about a dean of a college exploring racism and political correctness.

[Susie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good, it just wasn't as good as her other plays that I've read.

[Sonya · Rating 1 out of 5]

navel gazing- thought loop play.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A moving play about political correctness and the ongoing issues of racism set against the backdrop of a college campus

[Sarah Kleist · Rating 3 out of 5]

This play was interesting and asked wonderful social questions. Definitely unique. I liked it.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the humor and honesty of this play. Great dialogue and spirit in this.

[Bren fall in love with the sea. · Rating 3 out of 5]

review coming soon.

[ALICIA MOGOLLON · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe this play touches on some super important conversations, the kind of conversations most people will never have because they are not willing to admit they might have learned racist tendencies. That being said I found it difficult to identify with any single character. One might as well as a Latina didn't you identify with Patrick Chibas but I didn't I thought he was blaming Dean Sarah for larger societal problems that she actually had no control over. I couldn't help thinking who gives an f about your pride take the freakn money and use it to amplify your voice and well I guess he kind of did do that but he just sounded like a whiner. But maybe he had a reaSon to be. HE CERTAINLY Had some good points. I've never been able to figure out my race it's not white and it's not black, so I stick with Latina or hispanic because nobody wants to recognize off-white as a race which is the only thing that's ever made sense to me. But even thar feels ridiculous and like Patrick says i have and do often wonder why it ever has to matter. So on writing this I'm identifying more with him. I think my favorite characters are Myers and Greg the aspiring law student, especially the latter I feel like he may have had the best character journey

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this play was absolutely incredible- but full disclosure, I was maybe born to play the role of Sarah Daniels. Its an incredible look at issues of racism, even in places like liberal arts colleges, among well-educated, "progressive" academics who believe they know better. It's also a fairly scathing review of what it is to be in academia... maybe not for everyone, but I found it a timely and well-written piece that I would love to see sometime in the near future (hopefully featuring me on the stage).

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really intriguing theme. I was concerned about how the author was going to lean about the racism issue, but she did a really good job of conveying that neither racism nor political correctness is right. It ended with the conclusion that it doesn’t matter what your race, that we are all human and individuals.
One negative was the unnecessary use/choice of cuss words in the dialogue. Otherwise a well written piece.

[Brandi Simonis · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were moments where I was unsure of where it was headed, if it was a dark comedy and if having one person of color represented was intentional to further the issue at hand. Overall, it brings up the topic of racism and in this case, in a university setting where some recognize they have issues and others that are oblivious, lean into it hard. The play makes you think and reflect, whether you “enjoyed” the writing or not, it does that at the very least.

[Neha Gandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was pretty good but also for the kind of topics it was addressing, i wish it had been less wishy washy and more powerful

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A play that deals with racism. It's main point is we should just see people as people, not group them based on race. It makes you think.