American Buffalo

The play is set in a cluttered junk shop where its testy owner, Don, his pal Teach (a hyped-up second-story man), and Teach's spaced-out young protégé, Bob, are planning to steal a valuable coin collection. The prospective victim is a coin collector who found a rare buffalo-head nickel amid the shop's rubble and bought it for $90. Don now recalls the man's arrogance ("Like he had done me this big favor by just coming in my shop.") and decides to pay him back for the slight. As the play unfolds, the trio's ineptitude as burglars becomes obvious. To make matters worse, Don insists on bringing in another buddy, Fletch, to "watch our rears" although Teach maintains that only armies have rears. While waiting for Fletch, the characters chide, rib and cajole each other in frank, staccato street talk. Emotions run hot and cool as they steadily, almost imperceptibly build to a violent climax.