Two Slices of Mamet Life

Two short David Mamet plays, new to Los Angeles, are in repertory at the Geffen Playhouse. Neither play by itself measures up to the usual dimensions of a full program, but unfortunately that’s the only way now to buy tickets for them (the opening night audience on Wednesday got to see both of them in one evening).

“The Cryptogram”--barely an hour long--is too short to satisfy most people’s expectations for an evening out, and “The Old Neighborhood,” though slightly longer and funnier than its mate, is even less substantial.

Still, Mamet fans may want to add these to the list of plays they’ve seen, not because they rank among the writer’s greatest plays, but because they’re among his most autobiographical. Mamet’s prose writing about his own childhood, some of it posted in the Geffen lobby or included in the program, is strong stuff; some day, we can hope, he’ll write a great play about those experiences. In the meantime, these oblique glances at that material will have to suffice.

“The Cryptogram” visits a small boy, his mother and an adult family friend at a moment of severe crisis within the boy’s family. As the play opens, 10-year-old John (Will Rothhaar) expects to go on a camping trip the next day with his father. His mother, Donny (Christine Dunford), and their friend Del (Ed Begley Jr.) are having a hard time getting the kid to calm down enough for sleep. The father is absent, still working at “the office,” Donny tells John.

In fact, the discovery of a letter from the father is about to change everyone’s life. Even Del, whom we later learn is gay, finds himself in a very awkward position with his friends.

The name of the play is derived from the fact that young John, at least at first, picks up hints of turmoil but doesn’t know what’s going on. He’s out of the room when Donny tells Del about the contents of the letter, and during key conversational exchanges the following night.

The audience doesn’t share John’s perspective, however; we know a lot more than he does. So the events aren’t as cryptic for us as they are for him; we can sympathize with him more than we can empathize with him. And by the end, even John must know more than Mamet lets on. Several symbols with a capital S add a somewhat edgy quality, but not enough to explain previous critics’ reports that the play is “spooky,” even “a whodunit.” Michael Bloom’s staging at the Geffen is not going to make anyone jump, though people with similar memories in their own lives may well wince.

Young Rothhaar maintains a serious, fretfully inquisitive look and tone throughout, navigating Mamet’s quick, difficult exchanges in his high, piercing voice without hesitation. Dunford’s mother handles the splintered dialogue with ease, but she should be more terrifying in the final scene, if it’s going to have the emotional weight that’s intended. Begley, more animated than the others, suggests hints of unspoken thoughts with his chameleonic features.

In “The Old Neighborhood,” Bobby Gould (Dennis Boutsikaris) returns to his old haunts in Chicago for a conversation with old pal Joey (David Warshofsky) in a scene called “The Disappearance of the Jews,” set in a hotel room, and then separate meetings with sister Jolly (Robin Bartlett) at her home and former flame Deeny (Dunford) at a restaurant, in scenes named after those characters.

Here, Mamet probably had a lot of fun creating the distinctive rhythms and concerns of three very different characters based on people he knew. Boutsikaris’ Bobby doesn’t have much to do beyond listening, but Warshofsky is amusingly poker-faced as he emphatically expresses his regrets that he’s in Chicago running a restaurant instead of in the shtetl. Bartlett looks like an aggravated chicken, prowling the stage complaining to Bobby about their miserable parents while her husband (Begley) quietly eggs her on. And Dunford, looking almost like a sleek fashion model, rambles from one topic to another as she covertly assesses Bobby’s reappearance over lunch.

All three characters are enjoyable, especially the first two, but each scene is only a sketch. Actors will enjoy working with these dialogues in class, but audiences may prefer more of a main course.

* “The Cryptogram” and “The Old Neighborhood,” Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood. “The Cryptogram”: tonight at 8; Saturday, 8:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 30, 4 p.m.; Jan. 31, 7 p.m.; Feb. 3, 10, 7:30 p.m.; Feb. 5, 12, 8 p.m.; Feb. 6, 13, 8:30 p.m.; Feb. 7, 14, 2 p.m. “The Old Neighborhood”: Saturday, 4 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 2, 4, 9, 11, 7:30 p.m.; Jan. 29, 8 p.m.; Jan. 30, 8:30 p.m.; Jan. 31, Feb. 3, 2 p.m.; Feb. 6, 13, 4 p.m.; Feb. 14, 7 p.m. Ends Feb. 14. $30-$40. (310) 208-5454, (213) 365-3500. Running times: “The Old Neighborhood”: 1 hour, 20 minutes. “The Cryptogram”: 1 hour.

‘The Cryptogram’

Ed Begley Jr.: Del

Christine Dunford: Donny

Will Rothhaar: John

‘The Old Neighborhood’

Dennis Boutsikaris: Bobby

David Warshofsky: Joey

Robin Bartlett: Jolly

Ed Begley Jr.: Carl

Christine Dunford: Deeny

Written by David Mamet. Directed by Michael Bloom. Sets by John Arnone. Costumes by Christina Haatainen Jones. Lighting by Neil Peter Jampolis. Production stage manager James T. McDermott.