David Mamet: A Casebook by Leslie Kane, and: David Mamet and Film: Illusion/Disillusion in a Wounded Land by Gay Brewer (review)

420 Book Reviews LESLlEKANE. David Mamel: A Casebook. New York: Garland 1992. Pp. 310. $47.00. GAY BREWER. David Marner and Film: Illusion/Disillusion in a Wounded Land. Jefferson , NC: McFarland 1993. Pp. 221 . $27.50. David Marnel is this century's version of the Renaissance Man because he does everything , and does it well, Not only a playwright, he is also a poet, an essayist, a screenwriter , and a director. From the 70S when he first gained notoriety with Sexual. Perversity in Chicago to .the present when he again explored the tensions of malel female dynamics in Oleanna, Marnel has shocked the viewing public with his terse dialogue and multifarious characters. At the same time, he has revealed himself to his audience in collections ofessays. such as Writing ill Restaurallls and Some Freaks. as a thoughtful human being who is struggling for clearcut answers in an increasingly chaotic world. He has been called sexist and misogynistic, but has proven to be merely honest in imparting his perceptions of the world as it exists, and devastatingly accurate in his portrayals of the people who inhabir that world. In scrutinizing those characters, Marnet has produced a formidable body of diverse work which, in tum, has evoked much scholarship. Two recent examples of that schola.rship are volumes by Leslie Kane and Gay Brewer. Leslie Kane's David Marne!: A Casebook is a collection of eleven articles and two interviews followed by a bibliogr'aphy that is particularly helpful since the secondary sources are annotated, providing the user with a clear understanding of each entry and opening up additional avenues for research. Kane has not attempted to build around a central theme, but has chosen articles that reflect "the breadth, imagination, and diversity of Marnel's canon" (xv). They range from Matthew Roudane's articulation of Mamet's ethical vision to Christopher Hudgins 's delineation of Mamel's comedic philosophy and structure. Only two of the articles are reprised; "Dominance and Anguish: The Teacher-Student Relationship in the Plays of David Marnet" was first published by Pascale Hubert-Leibler in 1988, and Henry Schvey's contribution. "Power Plays: David Marnet's Theatre of Manipulation ," is a revision of a 1988 essay. All others are original for this volume. Maniof Mamet's recurring themes are explored here; the reader gets a fresh exposure to the teacher-student relationship, [he closeness of the male community, the gambling ritual, and the exploitation of the individual. I most appreciate that although Kane does not always agree with the critical interpretations presented, she still includes these opposing articles and viewpoints as a natural outgrowth of the complexity of Marnet's writing . Kane's introduction, which not only discusses Mamet's work, but also gives an overview of the text, is particularly strong. She profiles each contributor and supplies a brief synopsis of each article, creating a really valuable preview. The interviews with Gregory Mosher, who has directed most of Mamet's premieres, and Joe Mantegna, the actor who has given life to such characters as Ricky Roma in Glengarry Glen Ross and Bobby Gould in Speed-the.Plow, provide any reader with an Book Reviews 421 added dimension through which to examine Marnel's work as well as his creative process . Mosher says, " ... one of the things that characterizes David - what makes David David - are his contradictions. He is many times the most courtly, gentlemanly guy you could imagine; other times he's terrifying. You see raw strength coming out of him. It's not that one of them is him, and the other is an act or a mask. They are both him" (242). And Mantegna adds, "What's so great about this guy, is that he puts it on the line every year, every day. There are some guys who build careers on one thing. David's pumping it out. so it's like full speed ahead, here I go" (263). The shrewd perceptions from these two colleagues/friends of Marnel nicely round out Kane's casebook , making it an accessible document suitable for classroom use or private research. In David Mamer and Film, Gay Brewer presents a carefully articulated and meticulously analyzed text centered...