AmericanTheaterWeb Original News & Reviews

What's David Mamet without some edge and menace? Not surprisingly, it's an interesting, but never an entirely engrossing affair, and for proof of this answer, theatergoers can turn to Robert Falls' revival of American Buffalo that opened last night at the Belasco Theatre on Broadway.

Mamet's 1976 play set in a junk shop (brought to life beautifully in Santo Loquasto's labyrinth-like set design) focuses on three small-time cons in Chicago who hatch a plan to steal a coin collection. The plan's been hatched by Don (Cedric The Entertainer), the guy who owns the shop. He's ticked off because the guy they're planning to rob bought a buffalo nickel at his store recently. Don's pretty sure that he let the coin go for too little, and the robbery is his idea of payback. He'd been planning on pulling the job with Bobby (Haley Joel Osment), a young guy who's constantly distracted and in need of money from Don. Ultimately, Don asks Teach (John Leguizamo), an angry and none-too-bright pal, to help in the business at hand. Teach agrees, but demands that Bobby not be involved. Bobby's ouster from the enterprise, and the failure of a fourth man to show up for the heist, send Teach, Don and Bobby careening violently at one another.

Mamet's dark comedy is a master satire of capitalism and the American Dream, which has eluded these men, and will, most likely, always be just beyond their reach. It's also, like Speed-the-Plow, also playing on Broadway right now, a taut and explosive exploration of how men use what's within their grasp – words and sometimes their fists – to get ahead.

Given Falls' success with the work of Eugene O'Neill and his Chicago roots (where Mamet also began his career), it's more than a little surprising that so much of his staging "Buffalo" comes across as almost reserved. Perhaps Falls', and the performers', intent is to set this staging apart from previous New York incarnations, which featured performers such as Robert Duvall and Al Pacino in the role of Teach. There is certainly a sense of intimacy and humanity to this production. Unfortunately, the sense of menace and the potential for explosion is missing in this otherwise relatively tiny tale about planning a burglary.

Theatergoers find much to enjoy in the performances. Osment not only imbues Bobby with a charming sweetness, but also a sort of weary nervousness. Cedric The Entertainer amuses as Don, making the character part bear and part pussy cat. The man's concern for Bobby's well-being endears him to theatergoers as does his increasingly strained patience with Teach, as they embark upon the somewhat hazy revenge scheme. Leguizamo, who has created any number of characters who exude child-like simplicity, cunning street-smarts and ever dangerous volatility, certainly captures the dimwittedness of the ironically named "Teach," but somehow, one never believes that this is a man who might snap and literally kill someone in a fit of anger. Leguizamo's work throughout is meticulous, and one certainly feels for this man who will always be just short of reaching some level of success in his plans, no matter how trivial, but one's never frightened of him or his potential for violence.

Lighting designer Brian MacDevitt shrouds the proceedings in a wonderful murkiness that's sometimes brightened by the fluorescent lights that hang just above a counter in Don's store. It's literal darkness that one wishes were more prevalent in this solid, but never completely satisfying, production.

---- Andy Propst

American Buffalo plays at the Belasco Theatre (111 West 44th Street). Performances are Tuesday at 7pm; Wednesday through Saturday at 8pm, with matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2pm, and Sunday at 3pm. Tickets can be purchased by calling 212-239-6200 or by visiting www.telecharge.com. Further information is available online at www.AmericanBuffaloBroadway.com.