Friday, January 15, 1999
Pulitzer Prize-winner Mamet features plays
THEATER: Autobiographic works bare childhood of stern, cryptic
playwright
By Cheryl Klein
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
David Mamet is a puzzling man – something of a cryptogram, if
you will. Just ask Ed Begley Jr., who is starring in two of the
playwright’s shorter works currently running in repertory at the
Geffen Playhouse.
Begley, whom many remember from his six-year stint on "St.
Elsewhere," acted in the American premiere of "The Cryptogram," a
dark play that focuses on a boy’s creeping loss of innocence when
he learns his parents’ secrets and, even more disturbing, the coded
language of adulthood that allows them this distance.
For the West Coast, Begley has added a smaller role in "The Old
Neighborhood," a trio of vignettes that indirectly reverse the
first scenario by filtering childhood and other landmarks of the
past through the eyes of a few longtime friends.
Both parts can be traced back to a chance meeting with Mamet in
1994. Begley was eating at a restaurant when he spotted "St.
Elsewhere" writer Tom Fontana dining with the scribe of "Glengarry
Glen Ross," "American Buffalo" and many other screen and stage
plays. Begley, a fan for years, hurried over to the table to greet
his friend and engage in a little good-natured schmooze.
"I was quite complementary, as I wanted to be to someone of his
ilk and told him how much I liked his work," Begley recalls. "He
says, ‘You know, there’s a play you’d be right for.’ And I
literally thought he was joking because there was a lot of joking
going on. I said, ‘Well, send it on over. I’m free. I’d love to do
your play.’ But then the next day, the play came. So I guess it
wasn’t a joke."
Four and a half years later, Begley is still guessing when it
comes to Mamet. The Pulitzer Prize-winner is largely undisputed as
a writer and his abrupt, rhythmic, repetitive dialogue has arguably
revolutionized drama. But when lines are scripted down to every
pause and stutter, it’s not hard to see why actors might feel
constrained, to say the least.
And when Mamet is directing as well, the iron fist of the script
is that much tighter.
"Every single comma, every period, every pause, every consonant
and vowel. That’s what he wants," Begley says. "Not only does he
not spend a lot of time finding your inner monologue, your
motivation – all that stuff many actors need to feel comfortable –
he somewhat discourages it. He says, ‘Speak the lines loudly, plant
your feet firmly on the stage, and it really doesn’t matter what
you’re thinking.’"
New Yorker profiler John Lahr writes, "Mamet, like Pinter or
Beckett, is perhaps not the best interpreter of his own vision.
‘The Cryptogram,’ which was given an excellent English production
by Mosher which Mamet did not see, was directed by Mamet …
without the same impact."
But Begley applauds Mamet’s style and poses a theory about his
strategy.
"I wonder if it’s a trick," Begley says of emotionally void
interpretations. "Artists have to go, ‘I can’t believe he’d do
that. I’ll try not to show him that I’m (secretly constructing an
inner monologue).’ And then you have another layer of conflict
where you’re trying not to show that you’re angry at the other
character or something because … well, he’s David Mamet, a
well-respected and brilliant playwright."
As textual evidence, Begley points to Mamet’s fondness for
trickster characters, such as Steve Martin’s double-crossing mogul
in "The Spanish Prisoner." On the other hand, there’s something to
be said for tradition.
Enter Michael Bloom, a thoughtful, soft-spoken, professorly
director who is undertaking the daunting project of repertory for
the west coast incarnations of both plays. He remains calm during
the final stretches of "Cryptogram" rehearsals and most of his
suggestions are indeed centered.
Begley, who plays family friend Del, and Christine Dunford (who
plays Donny, the boy’s mother) work through a scene on a freshly
built set that resembles a 1950s living room. Their lines come
casually, creating a mood that is inadvertently familiar.
"I think the audience is going to think these two have something
going on," Bloom worries, proceeding to re-choreograph the scene in
accordance with the hesitant dynamic Del and Donny should have.
Dunford gets it. "Start out as though we are familiar and then
realize we’re not on the same ground," she paraphrases.
Begley says Bloom encourages actors to "find your character and
what you are feeling." This approach is "very traditional for a
good reason, because it’s what makes a lot of actors tick."
But he doesn’t find this style at odds with Mamet’s. "(Bloom)
doesn’t want to entirely reinvent the wheel … I said, ‘Here’s
what we did (in the original production)’ and just throw it out
there to use it or discard it. He said, ‘Oh yeah, that’s good. I
see.’ And he will use that.
"He doesn’t have any big ego involved where ‘I have to make
everything completely different, so I can put my mark on it,’"
Begley continues.
This fusion will perhaps make for the most dynamic staging of
two works that could easily baffle audiences in the process of
provoking thought. "The Cryptogram" has been described as a "10
steps out the door" play, the startling implications of its final
scene taking full effect only after theater-goers have time to
rethink the last lines.
"The Old Neighborhood" is somewhat more direct, though neither
play boasts the plot-heavy drama of some of Mamet’s more well-known
screenplays ("Wag the Dog," "The Untouchables," "The Postman Always
Rings Twice").
If there is a uniting force, it is perhaps the thematically
autobiographical nature of the two plays. "The Cryptogram" hints at
the emotional distance between mother and son Mamet has alluded to,
while "Neighborhood" depicts a brother and sister recalling their
parents’ rituals with simultaneous pain, humor and nostalgia.
Mamet has been characteristically cryptic about the details of
his childhood, but Begley sums up both "The Cryptogram" and his
knowledge of Mamet’s past by saying, "There are many forms of child
abuse. Some people actually pick their children up and hit them and
throw them against the wall and do horrible things. But there’s
another form of child abuse, which is neglect."
And one answer is to learn a few tricks of his own, surrounded
by those who bring out his best.
For Begley, it’s a welcome change from his TV past and a nice
follow-up to that restaurant meeting years ago.
"You do these brief little appearances on shows of different
levels of quality, but then to do a play like this," Begley
marvels. "It’s like you’ve been eating snacks, and you finally get
to sit down to a meal … a nice sustained, seven-course meal."
THEATER: "The Cryptogram" and "The Old Neighborhood" run
alternate nights at the Geffen Playhouse through Feb. 14, with both
shows most weekends. Tickets are $25 for previews (through Jan. 19)
and $30 to $40 for regular shows, $10 student rush. For ticket
information, call (310) 208-5454.The Geffen Playhouse
"The Cryptogram" and "The Old Neighbor," two plays by Pulitzer
Prize-winning playwright David Mamet, will be running at the Geffen
Playhouse through mid-February.
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