Aurora Theatre Company, Barbara Damashek, David Mamet, James Carpenter, local theater, Paul Vincent O'Connor, plays, San Francisco Chronicle, theater review Aurora Theatre Company, Barbara Damashek, David Mamet, James Carpenter, local theater, Paul Vincent O'Connor, plays, San Francisco Chronicle, theater review

Mamet with heart (and humor) at Aurora

Berkeley's Aurora Theatre Company concludes its season with David Mamet's American Buffalo, an early (1975) Mamet play that has all the telltale Mamet qualities (staccato dialogue sprayed in four-letter directions, life among conmen and criminals, pointed criticism of the "great American way," etc.), but unlike some of the later, more intentionally provocative and disturbing work, this one has a core of compassion and human connection.

Part of that is Mamet's play and part of it is director Barbara Damashek's production headed by two Bay Area greats: James Carpenter and Paul Vincent O'Connor. Watching them spar is theatrical bliss.

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American Conservatory ..., Anthony Fusco, David Mamet, Irene Lewis, local theater, plays, theater review American Conservatory ..., Anthony Fusco, David Mamet, Irene Lewis, local theater, plays, theater review

David Mamet stages a Race to obfuscation

David Mamet never fails to fog me up.

He's never been one of my favorite playwrights because, although he's a wizard of compelling dialogue and unquestionable intelligence, his view of the world is just too bleak for me. Finding kindness and compassion and spirituality in his work is never as easy as finding brutality, ugliness and the absolute worst in mankind. I'm not saying he's wrong in his assessment, it's just that he makes me feel like Pollyanna in comparison. I don't need a steady stream of sunshine, flowers and unicorns.

Mamet's Race is making its West Coast debut in a compelling production from American Conservatory Theater. Director Irene Lewis isn't messing around.

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