ARTS Friday, August 3, 1984 Page 7 The Michigan Daily 'American Buffalo' stampedes on By Deborah Lewis THE STAGE is complete. The characters are as grimy as the language is, as gritty as the dialogue is, as dingy as the junk shop set. Performance Network's production of American Buffalo, David Mamet's excoriation of male comraderie, whallops an aimed jab at mediocre theatre in Ann Arbor, sending expec- tations careening toward new r qualitative heights. They all do an .> f awfully good job. In two acts, American Buffalo ex- poses the raw, frenzied relationship between junk shop owner Donny, firebrand Teach, and heroin addict Bobby and their naive design to steal a coin collection. The crude language of the trio wafts about the stage like a leaking septic tank, adding a verbal odor to their dirty-rat comraderie. David Bernstein, a pivotal character in the inner workings of the Perfor- mance Network, plays the equally cen- tral role of Donny-a man confused by his paternal caring for the misbegotten Bobby and dirty, dangerous business dealings with the explosive Teach. On opening night, Bernstein broke his hand during the climax and has been playing with a cast ever since. Bernstein's performance is so strong Danny (David Bernstein) and that the injury becomes as inevident as Performance Network's inspired the fact that you are in the leaky Per- women. He is by far the crudest of t formance Network as opposed to an bunch and is vying for the title I ca honest-to-goodness basement junkshop "Most likely to be arrested for a cri near the "el" in Chicago. of passion." Teach is the philosopher of the group, Teach likes to run the show, and he constantly spitting out his theories of pathetically paranoid that others w successful business practice, loyalty conspire to get the best of him. He w among friends, and dealing with burst out with hateful sentimen S rings een is, still magniicent Teach (Gregg Henry) conspire to rob a customer of his production of David Mamet's American Buffalo. he all me is ill ill ts toward Donny and Bobby and then become emphatic that they forgive him. He makes his wisdom known, "Do you know what is free enterprise? The freedom of the individual to embark on any fucking course he sees fit in order to secure his honest chance to make a profit." Gregg Henry plays Teach as the educator who doesn't know what the hell he's talking about: a man struggling to become an entrepreneur trapped within the confines of the lower class hood mentality. Bobby is a living dartboard. He puts the needles in his arms and his com- panions stick the barbs in his side. David Isaacson plays Bobby as a mangy puppy of a youth, sniveling, begging, and vying for attention with his tail between his legs. Bobby keeps his speech to a minimum, contrasting Teach's incessant rants. The three actors work together magnificently, infusing the choppy street dialogue with realistic and humorous interpretation. Director David Hunsberger says of the actors, "You couldn't find three more different human beings" and this inherent dif- ference adds to the consistent diversity of the players." Hunsberger's cast and direction, and Elaine Noyes' masterfully cluttered set design propel this subterranean "comedy about violence" towards new heights in Ann Arbor theatre. By Byron L. Bull I T TAKES A solid performer to even salvage an arena concert from de- generating into anything but an imper- sonal, inaudible nightmare, and a very special one to elevate such a show to a magical moment. Bruce Springsteen, who wound up his two date stopover at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena last Tuesday, is one of those rarities. His highly per- sonal intensely heartfelt appearance that night was a glorious, memorable affair that surpassed his already legen- dary reputation. The joy that fills Springsteen with the act of music making is so rich and over- flowing, that it is intoxicating to be a part of and by the end of his three hour plus, 29 song show the audience was giddy and drained. The evening opened with the thunderous fanfare of "Born In The U.S.A.", then criss-crossed the years of Springsteen's recorded work to sample material from virtually every album, with generous attention given to the recent album, The River, and sur- prisingly, the solo work Nebraska. The Nebraska selections, framed and expanded by the full band arrangemen- ts, were quite impressive. Both the title track and the haunting "Atlantic City" took on an added depth in their storm cloud blue shadings, emerging as moody and captivating pieces. No less radiant were "Open All Night" and "Used Cars", both of which were prefixed by anecdotes on how they came to be written. Needless to say, the most expected: and most readily enjoyable numbers were the wild, uptempo numbers. As the band ran from the "Cadillac Ran- ch" through "Sherry Darling" to the soaring romanticism of "Jungle Land" one drew the impression that regar- dless of how many times they've played these songs, the band still can find something new to delve into with each new delivery. The Born In The U.S.A. songs, not among Springsteen's strongest com- positions, gained here in their rougher, somewhat grittier, delivery. While See SPRINGSTEEN, Page 10 INDIVIDUALTHEATRES 5 Ave E e T7S1-70 JAMIE LEE CURTIS " DAILY MATINEES SENIORS EVERY EVENING $3.00 DAILY FIRST MATINEE $2.00 C. THOMAS HOWELL Where dreams have a funny way of coming true. FRI. 1:00, 7:00, 10:20 SAT. 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 7:00, 9:00, 11 P.M. Op-X ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S "THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH"r FRI. 1:00, 7:30, 9:40 SAT., SUN. 12:50, 3:00, 5:15, 7:30, 9:40 (PG)