Spike-the-Play

Even playwrights play favorites. According to the New York Post, David Mamet wanted nothing to do with the Broadway debut of American Buffalo, which closed November 23 after a weeklong run. “He never attended a rehearsal, didn't see a performance, and refused to do any press for it,” reports the Post. "In my 30-year career, I have never met a playwright who had so little to do with his play," says Ben Sprecher, one of the producers. "David Mamet was nowhere near this production." His other Broadway production, a revival of Speed-the-Plow, is enjoying a good run; a recent Times article written by Mamet lauded the show. One theory of his disinterest in Buffalo relies on the money: sources say royalties from his early works (including Buffalo) go to his ex-wife because of a divorce settlement.