This is a strange, elliptical play. I did not enjoy it as much as some of the other Mamet maniacs here, but I will admit that, in the months since I've read it, I just can't get it out of my head.

A lot of this play exists in the subtext of the language and in Mamet's clever "uses of the knife." Since it is very hard to imagine it off the page, much of the time it seems like nothing is happening. I would like to see the play performed, but I think it is unlikely. Finding a ten-year-old who can pull off such a complicated role is probably too much of a headache for most theater producers.

This play is, yes, different than a Glen Garry or American Buffalo. But it is still full of Mamet. If the maestro floats your boat, go for it.

A fan of Mamet, I've read all but two of his plays. I've enjoyed every single one and this ranks among my favorite. I recommend it to all play-readers and theater lovers around the globe! Especially Mamet fans! Read it and I promise you won't be able to put it down!

It's too bad this doesn't get the same recognition that Mamet's other works, esp. Glengarry Glen Ross, Speed-the-Plow, and American Buffalo get. I can only agree with the critic cited on the back who believes that "in time it will take its place among Mamet's major works."

Whereas so many of Mamet's other plays seem to be about the same thing but just given different titles (again, StP, GGR, AB) -- and don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the "F***ing Master," as David Ives refers to him, but think about it, I'm right! -- The Crypotogram is completely uncharacteristic Mamet. It isn't necessarily doing what Mamet does best i.e. capitalism, but nonetheless, I think it's breathtaking.

The construction of the Cryptogram seems so fragile. As only Mamet can do with language, such a compelling spell is created, and it's undeniably intriguing -- the different worlds of adult language vs. children's language. Who has even given such thought to the idea? The idea that "grownups are speaking in code, and that that code may never be breakable" is established so subtly that at first I thought I missed it, I kept waiting for some more concrete dividing line -- but therein is Mamet's gift. To actually hear the language that Del and Donny speak as an adult, while simultaneously imagining hearing it as John might reveals this "code," and it is somewhat unsettling -- just the idea that such a difference exists. Certainly a clever illustration not only of how language can be interpreted differently, but of language's power in general -- to empower, persuade, dissuade, enlighten, shield, to keep in the dark, to be used as a weapon, or as defense, to conceal, and to reveal.

Perhaps one of Mamet's darkest plays, but well-written (so often a rarity) and full of ideas.

Incidentally, I'm a college student and would love to direct this play for my senior project, except it requires a 9 yr old of extraordinary talent, which seem to be in short supply on college campuses.

I read this book, found some of the most entertaining, informative and lively criticism I've ever encountered, and came to this page to see what others were saying about it. Reading the slams by Booklist and Kirkus made me wonder if I'd completely misunderstood "How Good Is David Mamet, Anyway?" But then I read the raves from Salon and Tony Kushner and other readers, and wondered who the heck is reviewing for Booklist and Kirkus. Booklist calls it "daily journalism," but then the NY Observer apparently is a weekly. It's amusing that Kirkus ends its review recommending a trip to the theater--if their writer got out more, he or she might notice on a theater marquee that it's NOEL Coward, not NOL. (Sorry, my keyboard can't make the little double dots to go with the correct spelling.) A howler like that basically nolifies the rest of the review. You won't be seeing the collected works of either of these critics appearing in bookstores anytime soon.

John Heilpern is without question the best critic of his generation, and his reviews in the weekly "New York Observer" can't be beat! Make plans to buy this collection from the most important living theater critic and England's best export since Archie Leach!

At last, readers beyond the subscription list of the New York Observer have the opportunity to read one of the most gifted--and funniest--writers around. As it happens, this book is a collection of his writing on theater (save for the non-theatrical, though rivetingly dramatic, account of Heilpern's struggle with a murderous roommate named Jack the Cat), but this work is a delight for anyone who appreciates finely tuned yet uproarious humor, a handsome prose style and a sensibility that is at once erudite, entertaining and inviting. How good is John Heilpern's "How Good Is David Mamet, Anyway?" anyway? Peerless.

As far as screenplays go, House of Games is a work of great cutting quality; written in Mamet's recognized concise style, House of Games permeates with a foreboding, volatile aura. When a too structured and career-driven yet refined and scholarly Dr. Margaret Ford, psychiatrist and author of the best-selling self-help book, Driven, is duped into helping Billy Hahn, a young man with a gambling addiction, she gets more than what is bargained for. She is led into the seedy underworld of the con man and all the baggage associated with him: drinking, unabashed gambling, lasciviousness, intricately woven lies, extremity upon extremity. But it is all cleaverly camouflaged by the many defrauders whom she encounters as exciting danger, rebellion against the smothering laws that only "good" citizens adhere to and being on the outer fringes of decency, good breeding and highbrowism. Ford, who gravely lacks any form of enjoyment in her life, is immediately drawn to the pulsating raw truth and "think quick" lifestyle of the brazen swindlers, for they gradually convince her-through a series of cons-that all humanity are imbued-one way or the other-with absolute cold indifference, for if you get bamboozled, it's your own fault and you probably deserved it. Dr. Margaret Ford exemplifies that for everybody. But she does not merely epitomize as a victim, she typifies it, through her own unsettling metamorphosis, as a kleptomaniac, murderess, and ultimately, a con woman. She evolves from good, introverted intellectual and respectable doctor to a cunning, manipulative, vindictive killer with a proclivity for thievery. So then the question is posed: Was Dr. Ford inherently a repressed criminal or was she the product of the sleezy environment and those in it? As Ford penetrates to what she genuinely believes is the psychological core of the sharpie personality, she is led by the leader, Mike, into a smoothly orchestrated plot that eventually bilks her out of $80,000; soon after, the scheme goes terribly awry when Mike holds a mirror to Dr. Ford's face, a mirror that she long avoided looking into.

Mike: I "used" you. I did. I'm sorry. And you learned some things about yourself that you'd rather not know. I'm sorry for that, too. You say I acted atrociously. Yes. I did. I do it for a living. (He gives her a salute and starts for the door.)

Ford: You sit down.

Mike: I'd love to, but I've got some things to do.

She cocks the gun.

(Of gun:) You can't bluff someone who's not paying attention.

Ford shoots him. He falls.

Mike: Are you nuts? What are you...nuts...?

Ford: I want you to beg me.

A radical turnabout occurs whereby the aloof victimizer becomes the casuality of his own folly, only to be replaced by Ford, who progresses onward to hone and define his criminal teachings, meticulously making them more her own. Ford's criminality is even more severe, for she turns into one of the criminally addicted patients that she (by her medical practice) is designated to help; her overall presence is refined, classy, learned, delicate, vulnerable, unsuspecting. Those are the worst kinds of lawbreakers: A friendy face on the outside, and something entirely different on the inside.

There came a moment in House of Games, in the movie, where I knew I'd heard something. I rewound, played, heard it, rewound played, heard it, and found that about the fourth time around, I was patting my thigh, in tune with something or other; the Mamet-speak. It's rhythm.

And then the script. I read that same scene (it's the one: "you gotta tell. Your telling which hand the coin is in") and the same thing. Aha! yes. But I had heard the scene. I remebered the scene. What about the others? Back to page one. The same thing. And then it became not what they were saying, but how they were saying it, and then it became WHO was saying it. And sometimes I wished they hadn't said it. But then the thought occurs with starry eyes: "thank God they did".

You like the movie, read the script. There's soemthing to be said for just you and the pages.

As an actor, I have found this book invaluable to my audition process & relative mental well-being.

After reading more acting books than I should have, I found this smart amplification of David Mamet's practical aesthetics a page-by-page, step-by-step relief. Much more than Mr. Mamet's book(s), this one transcends theatrical methodology, posturing and/or academic classification.

Kohlhaas shares techniques refined through her influential professional work & teaching at the legendary Atlantic Theatre Company. The New York-born ideas apply just as clearly & constructively to auditions here on the West Coast -or anywhere else, I imagine. They're also helpful in audition scene work and cold readings.

Taking a step further, this steady examination of the audition -or interview- process provides a winning approach to any and all analogous situations demanding a good first-impression, stand-alone confidence & persuasive communication.

Amid such seemingly powerless circumstances, Karen Kohlhaas shows you why and how to give yourself a break & focus on all the things that are still under your command. "Out of this nettle..." etc.etc.

I've recommended it to as many non-actors as actors -anyone faced with a public arena which, to borrow from Mr. Mamet, "if turned on its head," will open up paths of self-direction, self-discovery and betterment.

I had the glorious opportunity to study under Karen Kohlhaas for two years at the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School. She is one of the most inspiring individuals you would ever hope to meet; chiefly because of the practicality of her instruction and the confidence she inspires in her students.

There is a quality in her cadence, quite well transmitted into her writing, that gives one a remarkable sense of ease.

If you, like nearly all aspiring(and successful) actors, hate the audition process, this text can do divers good for your sanity.

To paraphrase Ms. Kohlhass, you are either good at auditioning or not, but when you turn so daunting process on its head, it can be made to serve you.

If you do not have the opportunity to experience Ms. Kohlhaas' instruction firsthand, this is an essential document.

There are two one-act plays in this book... Bobby Gould in Hell by David Mamet. It says that it premiered at the Lincoln Center in December 1989. William H. Macy played the INTERROGATOR. Well, the first review talks a lot about this play. I want to talk to you about the other play... The Devil and Billy Markham by Shel Silverstein. That's right, by the same Shel Silverstein that wrote Where the Sidewalk and Ends and A Light in the Attic. This play is absolutely hillarious. Billy plays a game of chance with the devil... he's has to role a 13 with two dice, which is of course impossible. The first time he loses his life and goes to hell... but the devil offers him a second chance, but this time the stakes are for the lives of his family. He takes the challenge... and you'll have to read it to find out the many twists and turns this play takes us through.

I've only actually seen the first one act play in this book performed but it is worth it just to buy it for BOBBY GOULD IN HELL. It is about Bobby Gould, who dies and goes to Hell where he is met by the "Interogator"(either a strange portrayal of the devil, God, a sur-demon, or just some guy who has been put in charge of Hell, I would tend to guess the latter) and his secratarial assistant whom he tries to convince he shouldn't be there (in Hell) and verbal jousting and antics ensue. Eventually Bobby's girlfriend is brought in to act as a sort of witness but she is even crazier than he is. Eventually it leaves you feeling sorry for the initially callous Interogator who gets embeded in a frantic situation with his job just as he is trying to go off and do a little fishing. This is tied in the "funniest thing I have ever seen or read" category with Tom Stoppard's ROSSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD and in my opinion, has reached heights of language-based commedy. CAUTION, if you are not used to having to think about what you read/see performed you may get board and confused. HOWEVER, if you enjoy seeing or reading a piece which has been crafted by a master of words and will surprise you with any number of twists and sudden hilarious confusion on the parts of the characters, then by all means purchase this book. BOBBY GOULD IN HELL, as part of OH HELL! is well worth the low price for which is offered. Also you might check out the aforementioned ROZENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD by Tom Stoppard.

I'm currently involved in my local theatre production of this play and it's totally awesome. I haven't read the other two, but Revenge of the Space Panadas is really interesting. It can be very weird and confusing in parts, but it's absolutly hilarious!!! I really recommend this play!

Pulitzer-winning playwright, David Mamet, has created these witty and imaginative children's plays that also operate on an adult level. The plays are written to allow for very flexible staging and smaller budgets. While the fast pace and outlandish (space pandas?) situations will delight children of all ages, Mamet's brilliant and incisive humor will keep mom and dad in stiches! Perfect for small theater companies and schools; since the author provides student and journey-level designer's with challenges to their imaginations instead of their budgets. These plays demonstrate why Mamet is one of the foremost theatrical craftsmen of the modern generation, and should not be overlooked simply because children will be able to enjoy them as well.

If you know anything about David Mamet, you know he is a unique writer...and this book is no exception. Although it is titled Bar Mitzvah, it isn't the usual tale, moving from watchmaking through the Holocaust. This may sound unappealing but the main theme, what it means to be a Jew and to live a meaningful life, shine through. A gorgeous book, one I strongly feel will appreciate in value, heirloom quality. The drawings by Donald Sultan compliment the text nicely.

I haven't been able to buy this book, but I have read it. It is very good, and doesn't just talk about the play, about half the essays are significantly focused on the movie version of Glengarry Glen Ross, and there are a few that are completely focused on it. I believe one even makes a case that the movie is better than the play (which I agree with). A great book if you are interested in Mamet's work of genius!

Mamet, in the introduction, calls these "three and ten minute plays some of the best work I've ever done, but what are they good for?" Many of these plays, especially "Four A.M.", "Cross Patch" and all of the short plays in the "Vermont Sketches" series are between two and five pages and are brief but powerful stories from the man who wrote "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "American Buffalo". One of these, "The Spanish Prisoner", was recently developed into a box office hit starring Steve Martin and Campbell Scott (directed by Mamet himself). Most of them were openers for his plays, and one or two were published in the New York Times. Overall, a very good series of short plays, stories and monologues.