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“Homecomings”
Three One Acts:
The Duck Variations
Directed by Louis Contey
The Disappearance of the Jews
Directed by Rick Snyder
Home
Directed by Louis Contey
By David Mamet
As part of the Mamet Festival
Appearing in repertory at the Goodman Theatre
170 N. Dearborn
Chicago, IL
Call 312-443-3800
April 2, 4, 8, 12, 14 and 15 at 7:30 PM
Running time 1 hour, 35 minutes with intermission
“Homecomings” is a three short play Mamet sampler
As part of the David Mamet Festival, the Goodman Theatre presents three sets of one acts. The first group is “Homecomings” consisting of The Duck Variations directed by Louis Contey that features veteran players Maury Cooper and Howard Witt. In this 50 minute play (Mamet wrote when he was in college), two elderly men sit on a park bench talking about ducks that emerges into a philosophical debate about the meaning of life, the nature of knowledge and the need for friendship and the basic need for wild freedom in one’s life and the inevitable death we all face.
Cooper and Witt are splendid, getting as much out of two guys bantering on and on and on. This early Manet work established his style featuring his verbal dueling, terse, cryptic dialogue that borders on the absurd. The staccato rhythms Mamet displays are on full use here. While the two pros tried to live things up, the work is too long, too tedious and ultimately underwhelming. Mamet’s emerging talent bleeds through the work.
In The Disappearance of the Jews, director Rick Synder has another two-hander featuring two buddies reunited in a motel room after Bobby (Joe Dempsey) goes through a devastating divorce. Joey’s (Keith Kupferer) recollections lead to pontificating on the meaning of growing up Jewish. Bobby regrets marrying a Christian girl and Joey speaks of the passive nature of Jews as a source of the world’ s aggression toward them. The two trade regrets and ironies about being Jewish. Again, I thought the piece was too long (40 minutes) and wordy. The lack of action and dramatic tension dooms this promising piece. It serves as a Mamet curiosity play. Mamet’s feelings on being Jewish are vented here.
In Home, we meet Robert (Darrell W. Cox) who finds his marriage is breaking up. He tries to get Claire (Laura T. Fisher) to move to another city so he can get a better job. She argues in pure “Manetspeak” that knives through Robert in this short yet powerful play. It is a bleak work that throws words that cut like a razor at each partner.
This brief Mamet evening is more of a sampler of Mamet’s sharp, terse dialogue than well structured storytelling. These shows are marginally entertaining. As part of the complete Mamet Festival, they offer a glimpse of Mamet’s style.
Somewhat Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed April 2, 2006
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