When James Carpenter sweeps onto the Aurora Theatre Company stage in David Mamet's "American Buffalo," he brings a wiry, wannabe outlaw energy that keeps the play lively for the next two hours. Carpenter, one of the Bay Area's most reliably great performers, plays Teach, a smalltime Chicago criminal looking for his next score. [...] Donny and Teach, possibly with the help of Donny's gofer, Bobby (Rafael Jordan), are going to do a little breaking and entering and get the nickel back. [...] after the overly long set-up of Act 1, the desperation of Donny and Teach reaches near-hilarious levels in Act 2. Carpenter and O'Connor know how to find the comedy without losing touch with the grim reality these characters inhabit.
Reported by SFGate 8 hours ago.
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