NY1 Theater Review: "American Buffalo"
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For the second time within a month, the celebrated playwright David Mamet returns to the big stage with an all-star revival. "American Buffalo" turned Mamet into a household name 31 years ago. Monday, it opened again, featuring John Leguizamo and Cedric the Entertainer. NY1's Roma Torre filed the following review. After seeing both of the David Mamet revivals this season, first, his relatively minor play "Speed the Plow" and then his breakthrough masterpiece "American Buffalo," how strange to report that what was considered his lesser work comes off the better of the two.
"American Buffalo" exploded onto Broadway in 1977. It put Mamet on the map as that rare American playwright who could capture the cadences and rhythms of the language of the street. It was original and raw 30 years ago. But now, unlike the buffalo nickel in its title, the play's value over time seems to have diminished.
The story of three small-time hoods plotting a heist seems to go in circles. As a character study, Mamet certainly "got" the swagger, the dynamic and of course the expletive laden dialogue of these low-life losers, but as entertainment, it comes off as rather tedious.
Set in an urban junk shop, rendered to detailed perfection by designer Santo Loquasto, we meet the three friends: shop owner Donny, his young gofer Bobby, and the menacing Teach – a bumbling trio attempting to shortcut their way to the American Dream by hook and crook.
Mamet was exploring the conflict between business and friendship at the lowest level of society. Donny attempts to take Bobby, a simple-minded druggie, under his wing to teach him about business. But when their plot to burglarize a coin collector's house falls through, their friendship goes right out the window.
The casting is quite possibly the most interesting part of this production, which features two celebrities making Broadway debuts. Cedric the Entertainer and young Haley Joel Osment of "Sixth Sense" fame hold their own quite nicely alongside the stellar veteran John Leguizamo. But best of all is the multi-cultural aspect. A black guy, a Latino, and a young white kid give the play an added relevancy.
Credit Robert Falls highly-professional production, with its rainbow casting to preserve some universality in a work that is clearly past its prime.