Mamet first gained national recognition as a major playwright with the 1977 Broadway production of American Buffalo (1975). He rose to international prominence as one of the greatest playwrights of the twentieth century with the production of the prestigious Pulitzer Prize-winning Glengarry Glen Ross in 1984. Mamet is widely celebrated for his skillful rendering of American vernacular English and the rhythms of spoken language. C. W. E. Bigsby, in David Mamet (1985), echoed many reviewers and drama critics in his assertion that Mamet expresses ‘‘a sensitivity to the American vernacular unequalled by any other playwright.’’

Summing up the extent of Mamet’s status as a major American dramatist, Leslie Kane, in David Mamet: A Casebook (1992), explained:

Mamet is widely considered to be one of the most prolific and powerful voices in contemporary American theater. His sensitivity to language, precision of social observation, concern for metaphor and its dramatic force, theatrical imagination and inventiveness, images of alienation, striking tone poems of betrayal and loss, brilliant use of comedy, and continuing productivity account in large part for his staying power and critical respect.

However, Mamet has also been criticized for extensive use of offensive language in his plays, and for the treatment of women in his male dialogue, which some consider degrading and sexist.

Reunion was first performed in 1976, later performed with the short companion piece Dark Pony (1977), and ultimately performed as part of a triptych including The Sanctity of Marriage (1979), also a short piece. Critics have praised Reunion for its minimalist plot, setting, and stage directions, which leave the viewer to focus on the dialogue and the relationship between the characters. Mamet is also praised for his creation of nuanced characters and his delicate rendering of the relationship between father and daughter in Reunion. Patricia Lewis, in the Dictionary of Literary Biography, asserted, ‘‘Reunion suggests the real and deep characters Mamet is capable of creating.’’ Lewis observed, ‘‘The relationship in this vignette is probably the strongest manifestation of character interaction and interdependency yet evidenced in [Mamet’s] writing.’’ Nesta Jones and Steven Dykes, in File on Mamet (1991) described Reunion as ‘‘a good minor play in a strong minor key.’’ Harold Clurman, in a 1979 review of Reunion in The Nation, stated:

David Mamet has written more original and striking plays than Reunion . . . but none I have found more touching. . . . Mamet’s writing here is marked by an honest sensibility and a humanity of perception which strike home. . . . It is in this play and this vein . . . that Mamet’s most telling qualities are revealed.

Michael Billington, in a 1981 review of Reunion in the Guardian, commented, ‘‘It would be hard to over-praise the way Mr. Mamet suggests behind the probing, joshing family chat an extraordinary sense of pain and loss.’’ Stephen H. Gale, in Essays on Contemporary American Drama (1981), noted of Reunion, ‘‘Mamet’s drama beautifully depicts the touching way in which [the two characters] communicate, hesitatingly, as a renewed bond is formed.’’

In a career spanning some three decades, Mamet’s reputation as a playwright, screenwriter, and director continues to grow. In the 1990s, he also published several books of essays and memoirs, books on acting and film directing, and a novel.