American Buffalo

If you love your theatre peppered with curse words, grit, and a raw sense of old-school Chicago, then playwright David Mamet is your man.  Lucky for you, one of his most classic, curse word-laden, gritty, and old-school Chicago-y plays has received an extension at the Steppenwolf Theatre.

Now through Feb. 14^th, American Buffalo is on stage at Chicago’s most-famous, most-revered theatre on Halsted Street.

Three generations of men – Don, Teach, and Bobby – are conspiring to steal a valuable coin collection.  Not realizing its value, Don (who owns the junk shop where the entire play is set) sells a precious American Buffalo nickel to a wealthy man for far less than it is worth.  In response, the rest of the play involves Don, Teach, and Bobby plotting a heist to retrieve the nickel.

The play is perfectly performed by Ensemble Members, Francis Guinan and Tracy Letts (who brought a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award home to Chicago for his groundbreaking, earth-shattering production of August: Osage County). And director Amy Morton – well, she just gets it.

The scarily smart and tremendously talented Steppenwolf Artistic Director Martha Lavey had this to say about the play:

“We are collectively questioning what we have paid for the American obsession with wealth and we are witnessing the stratification of wealth – the winners and losers – when the game falls apart.  American Buffalo has much to offer in the way of a cautionary tale.  That it offers its wisdom in a story beautifully told and deeply felt is a testimony to Mamet’s gift.”

In the midst of today’s economic struggles, this play is particularly pertinent.  Infused with humor, sadness, and profanity, the question persists: who isn’t on a quest for the American Buffalo nickel?