David Mamet’s toxic masculinity rears its ugly head both on and offstage in ‘American Buffalo’
Editors Note:Earlier this week, screenwriter and playwright David Mamet appeared on Fox News, voicing his support for Florida’s newly enacted “Don’t Say Gay” law, bizarrely claiming male teachers are “inclined to pedophilia.” Below is our review of the star-studded revival of Mamet’s 1975 play American Buffalo, written prior to Mamet’s puzzling and offensive comments.
Ultimately, audiences will have to decide for themselves if they can look past Mamet’s personal views for an evening of Broadway theater.
We hope this review helps inform that decision.Laurence Fishburne, Sam Rockwell, and Darren Criss meander through a revival of David Mamet’s 1975 classic, American Buffalo, as three would-be grifters in a crime-heist gone awry.
Using Mamet’s patented blend of repetitive-though-rhythmic repartee, the play brings a series of character studies to life, based on Chicago’s down-on-their-luck around-the-way guys.Related: Wigs, kaftans and body image issues take center stage in ‘To My Girls’Though it’s set in Chicago, circa 1975, if you’ve ever wandered into a pawn shop, you’ll instantly recognize the squalor of hastily sold-off possessions that populate Don’s Resale Shop (scenic design by Scott Pask).
