July 2005

What is friendship worth? That’s one of the questions posed in David Mamet’s 1976 play American Buffalo. Don, a Chicago junk shop owner who dabbles in small-time thievery, concocts a plan to steal rare coins from a collector along with his young, not so bright friend, Bob. Don’s unpredictable cohort Teach gets involved, and the three men become embroiled in a swirl of miscommunication, anxiety, and mistrust as their plans crumble and reach a violent climax. The play examines a simple question — the exact worth of a Buffalo nickel — as well a heavier one: what’s the dollar value of human friendship?

Rodney Lee Rogers plays Teach, a meaty role that’s been tackled in the past by the likes of Robert Duvall, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, and William H. Macy. And Rogers certainly holds his own here. He enters the stage like Pac-Man, gobbling up everything in his path. Even when he’s slow and quiet, his energy is still so high you can’t wait to see what his next move will be. A great portion of his best acting is in the moments where he doesn’t speak. He artfully controls the way his face shows the barely contained anger that fuels Teach. As Don, R.W. Smith started off a little shaky on the show’s opening weekend. After a few minutes, however, he seemed to settle into his groove and grow into it as the play progressed, becoming stronger and more captivating in his performance as his character’s conflicts worsened.

David Mandel is great as Bob, the young ward who’s constantly looking to Don for direction and approval, and in a way competing with Teach for Don’s attention. Mandel is very good at portraying Bob as a frustratingly slow young man, one who has the potential to clear up problems more quickly if only he could explain himself faster and better. With his beaten-down shuffle and bangs hanging down and poking him in his eyes, he convinces us of his lonely life.

There are three additional characters who take up a good portion of the play but never actually appear onstage. We hear a lot about Ruthie and Grace, associates Teach distrusts but whom Don and Bob both like. We also hear a great deal about Fletcher, the Godot-like figure on whom everyone’s waiting, since the robbery’s success hinges on his arrival and participation. We know he’s never going to come, though, and it’s painful to see Don and Teach waiting for him. Through hearing the three men talk about these other characters, we get a better sense of who Don, Teach, and Bob are. Mamet is terrific at revealing character through the way his people talk about others.

American Buffalo is Mamet at his best; it’s one of his sharpest portrayals of humans at their most vulnerable. Of course, the play is full of the “Mametspeak” that’s been so often imitated and parodied: rapid-fire, staccato, argumentative, and raw, with lots of cursing (surprisingly, a group of 20-somethings were complaining about the profanity). But it’s those very speech patterns which serve the characters and the themes here to such great effect. Their language is their vehicle of honesty, whether it’s blatant in some instances or veiling the truth in others.

Don and Teach discuss at one point how business and friends don’t mix. The passage returns to haunt the group later. Loyalty is something that Teach lectures about at length in the play, yet the other two men understand the concept considerably more. Despite Don’s toughness, his compassion for Bob and the connection between the two is touching. And even pugnacious Teach moves us, particularly in his desperation, which Rogers portrays with a heartrending accuracy.

Director Gus Smythe keeps this wordy play full of action and, for the most part, good pace. The tension never subsides in American Buffalo, even in the lulls. That tension starts, of course, with Mamet’s extraordinary script and is served beautifully by the superb acting and taut direction in this production.

Appropriate costume design (uncredited) — Teach’s cheap suit, Don’s good-natured tacky shirt, and Bob’s oxblood leather blazer — and set design (also uncredited), which makes effective use of the small performance space but could have been pushed even further, help create the confined, gritty, and cheap world these men inhabit. (Those who’ve seen other productions at PURE will recognize some props from past productions adorning the wall of this junk shop). And special mention goes to Rogers’ hilariously manipulated hairline.

American Buffalo is a beautiful play — funny, dramatic, thrilling, and moving — and PURE Theatre is giving it a top-notch production. If you’ve been waiting for an excuse to visit PURE’s intimate black box in the Cigar Factory, this is it.