DOUBLE THE IMPACT, HALF THE LAUGHS; DARK HUMOR KEY TO STARK MAMET TALES.

Byline: Rob Lowman Daily News Entertainment Editor

``I pray. I pray every night,'' says Joey in the first act of David Mamet's play ``The Old Neighborhood.'' ``I pray that I can get through life without murdering someone.''

It's a sentiment that could sound right coming from any of the characters in the two Mamet plays - ``The Old Neighborhood'' and ``The Cryptogram'' - playing in repertory at the Geffen Playhouse. Actually, the line could read ``murdering someone or killing myself,'' which Joey talks about later and it's another thought that seems to be expressed, overtly or tacitly, by other characters.

Sounds deadly serious, huh? But the Mamet plays are punctuated generously with humor, albeit very dark humor, and Joey's lines can as easily generate a laugh as a gasp, which is part of the genius of Mamet.

It's easy to overpraise the playwright, though. He, in the words of critic John Lahr, dissects ``the follies of American life.'' He wields the knife expertly, to reveal the inner turmoils and tumors but does not neatly sew things up, thus making the audience work for the meaning of his plays.

There is nothing tidy about Mamet's dialogue, either, which often is rapid, staccato, repetitive. Note Joey's lines: ``I pray. I pray ... I pray.'' You won't hear long cohesive speeches in works from Mamet, who draws from his Chicago background. The rhythm of dialogue and clues within it often substitute for traditional narrative to move the story forward.

Playwright Mamet is reminiscent of composer of Philip Glass, another late-20th-century American artist who has had a major effect on his field. Both are incredibly prolific - Glass writing film scores and operas, Mamet writing for movies and television. Glass is called a minimalist, but that's misleading. He, too, uses repetition, but with arpeggios.

They both have distinctive styles. You see a scene from a Mamet play and you know it's Mamet. You hear a Glass composition, you know it's Glass. But their works, at times, seem less fully realized complete works than signature pieces, to be considered within their oeuvre. Which raises the questions: How valuable are these works? Are they worth the time and effort to see them or hear them?

In the case of ``The Old Neighborhood'' and ``The Crytogram,'' the answer is yes, but not unequivocally. Both plays contain brilliant moments, razor-sharp dialogue and fine acting.

``Neighborhood'' is three related one-acts plays. (Mamet wrote the first in 1982 and picked up the thread years later.) On the heels of the breakup of his marriage, Bobby (Dennis Boutsikaris) returns in a midlife crisis to Chicago to confront his past.

Act 1, ``The Disappearance of the Jews,'' is set in Bobby's Chicago hotel room where he is visited by his boyhood friend Joey (David Warshofsky). They reminisce about the past, second guess themselves and lament their choices (``I should never have married a shiksa,'' Bobby says. How did I end up running a restaurant? wonders Joey.).

Warshofsky gives a wonderfully lively performance. Boutsikaris shows just enough of his nervous energy from the uncertainty in his life to make him interesting. It a difficult role because, for the most part, his character is a sounding board for the others, and rarely reacts strongly or expresses an opinion.

In the second act, ``Jolly,'' he visits his sister, where the two have spent the night confronting the terrors of their family. The scene begins with Jolly (Robin Bartlett) telling Bobby about someone who doesn't like the way she and her husband, Carl (Ed Begley Jr.), raise their kids. The person she's referring to is Bobby and Jolly's stepfather, a non-Jew. That sets her off, and in a short time all the past ghosts come forth. It's a difficult role for Barlett, kind of like a Paganini cadenza with its emotional ups and downs, but she's up for the challenge.

The Roman poet Horace said, ``Undeservedly you will atone for the sins of your fathers.'' This is the theme that runs through this scene and throughout ``The Cryptogram.'' When Jolly says she thinks her kids will turn out OK, Bobby replies, ``Of course they won't. We're not.''

In the final act, ``Deeny,'' Bobby meets an old girlfriend whose whereabouts he learned from his conversation with Joey. He meets her in a restaurant. Deeny (Christine Dunford) is not the woman Bobby remembers. She, like Joey, thinks about the things she'll never do. She has lost the feeling that things ever will be right again and babbles as she tries to understand herself. Dunford brings poignancy to the role, which depends so much on Bobby's lack of reaction.

``The Cryptogram'' takes place in 1959, with Donny (Dunford); her friend Del (Begley); and her son, John (Will Rothhaar) awaiting the return of the boy's father, who is taking him on a camping trip. John can't go to sleep for the excitement, and after a couple of accidents he worries what the third one will be, wondering if it could have happened earlier.

It's a provocative play full of clues and symbols. Early on, Mamet introduces a knife that once belonged to a German paratrooper in World War II, and it shows up in a haunting final image. Some critics have seen this play as being about child abuse, but I think it's more about the psychological scars left from living in an unhappy family.

One problem with ``Crytogram'' is having a child speak in Mamet rhythms. True, the play isn't supposed to be entirely realistic, but, somehow, the lines sound unnatural coming from a young boy, especially early on before the story is established. Dunford and Begley do commendable work in overcoming this, and ultimately turn in strong performances.

Neither play is very long - ``The Old Neighborhood'' is about 75 minutes, ``The Cryptogram'' about 65 minutes. That adds to the feeling that they aren't complete. Neither is a great work, but both contain all the elements that make Mamet, at his best, great. And that's good.

THE FACTS

What: ``The Old Neighborhood'' and ``The Cryptogram.''

Starring: Robin Bartlett, Dennis Boutsikaris, Ed Begley Jr., Christine Dunford, Will Rothhaar and David Warshofsky.

Behind the scenes: Written by David Mamet. Directed by Michael Bloom.

Where: The Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood.

When: Plays run in repertory Tuesdays through Sundays through Feb. 14. Call the Geffen for specific performance dates.

Tickets: $30 to $40. Call [phone].

Our rating: Three and one half stars for each.

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--2) Robin Bartlett and Dennis Boutsikaris in ``The Old Neighborhood,'' left. In ``The Cryptogram,'' Will Rothhaar, Christine Dunford and Ed Begley Jr. await the return of the boy's father, who is taking him on a camping trip.