4.20.2006

what i'm watching: soulpepper's american buffalo

The Soulpepper production of American Buffalo is very good. I imagine you'd have to like David Mamet to enjoy this darkly funny play, with its grim view of the world, but I do, a lot.

The program notes referred to (I paraphrase) Death Of A Salesman as sounding the death of the American dream and American Buffalo as driving the nail in its coffin; also that you can view Buffalo and Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross as bookends, blue collar and white collar underbellies of American working life. True, both.

That's also a cool comparison because Dustin Hoffman starred in the movie version of Buffalo, and later, brought down the house on Broadway as Willy Loman, something I was lucky enough to see in my theatre days in New York.

Many people dislike Mamet's stylized dialogue, his almost exclusively male world, all the cursing. I think he's great. Allan and I both love his intricate, wildly confusing movies House of Games and The Spanish Prisoner, both about con artists and elaborate cons, with you, the audience, as the mark. State And Main is very good, too - a comedy, and a departure for Mamet.

Yesterday was also our first time in the Distillery District during the day. (Nothing will make you feel young like a weekday matinee!). It was a gorgeous sunny day, we had lunch outside, and poked in a few galleries and studios. I can see there'll be plenty to keep us occupied for the whole seven-play subscription.

If I get enough pre-vacation errands done today, I'm hoping to catch the Frank Gehry exhibit at the AGO tomorrow. It closes while we're away, and I don't want to miss it. Fingers crossed that the mall cooperates.

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