I have a theory that on the set of Paul Thomas Anderson's "Magnolia," everyone in the cast made a vow to do a New York play when it wrapped, because it seems that everyone from that film is illuminating Gotham these days, with Sam Shepard's True West on Broadway (starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly) and now an electric update of David Mamet's American Buffalo, featuring Anderson secret-weapons Philip Baker Hall and William H. Macy. While not one of Mamet's more interesting plays (it is way too talky and repetitive), Buffalo is a perfect vehicle for actors, and I can't think of a better pair to embody them than Hall and Macy. Playing Donny, an older antique shopkeeper and Teach, a high-strung street urchin who nudges Donny into pulling off a B&E, these performers raise the bar for modern performance. With a strong assist from Mark Webber (currently in the feature "Snow Day"), these pros give the work a surge of truth and tension, something the middling 1996 film version with Dustin Hoffman and Dennis Franz was seriously lacking. Many people forget that Mamet's work is often absurdly funny, and that film version had barely a chuckle in it; it was too serious and controlled like most filmed plays. This new incarnation, however, is brisk and subtle, even if it doesn't escape being much ado about nothing. Played out on a single set (Donny's store, marvelously drab thanks to Kevin Rigdon's detailed sets), it reiterates Mamet's affection for male bravado and honor among lowlifes. Basically, the show is a pissing contest between suggestions of ripping off an apartment nearby. As anyone knows, nobody does this sort of thing better than David Mamet. And Hall and Macy, two supernaturally talented actors, give the work a heft that wouldn't be apparent on the page. Hall, with his impeccable gruffness, gives Donny a soft core of generosity, too, and sublimely plays off Macy and Webber. Usually a domineering character actor, Hall is forced to react a good deal in this play, and his instincts are razor-sharp, especially when delivering much of the salty profanity that laces Mamet's proceedings. Hall never seems to swear the same way twice and really knows how to find the right way to say everything, even when you think you've heard it before. Macy rivets in a change-of-pace role as well. Known for playing weasels and nerds on film, Macy is actually a bold, commanding presence onstage and gives Teach a palpable sense of danger to go with his character's half-assed asides regarding morality. There is a great deal of subtlety to his portrayal as well. Even if you know the play well, it's still hard to gauge how Macy will choose to maneuver Teach, always an exciting surprise for a theatergoer. Webber has the small but pivotal role of Bobby, the shifty-eyed kid who works for Donny, and gives him a vulnerability that turns out to be crucial to the play's final stretch.
Directed by Mamet vet and sometime-actor Neil Pepe, Buffalo is hardly one of the classics, but the play is so skillfully crafted that it fools you into believing it is. Pepe's direction is just as subtle as the actors, especially in one scene where it is raining outside, and you notice the effect almost exactly when the actors do. The show is refreshingly unimpressed with itself and doesn't call attention to things just to "dazzle" you. It is a minor play with minimal fireworks, but simply having the opportunity to watch these men work is an unqualified treat all by itself.
