Nick Coleman

Glengarry Glenn Ross
by David Mamet

Cast:

Alan Alda … Selly Leven
Frederick Weller … John Williamson
Gordon Clapp … Dave Moss
Jeffrey Tambor … George Aaronow
Liev Schreiber … Richard Roma
Tom Wopat … James Lingk
Jordan Lage … Baylen

Wow.

I’m a big Mamet fan, so I may be a bit prejudiced in my review of his latest revival#–just an up front warning. And yes, I loved it.

At its heart, Mamet’s plays are about language#–or at least they owe much to its usage. Some people like the langauge, some people don’t: but no one can deny that only Mamet seems to have a mastery over the jingo and jive specific to each setting of his various plays. The plot of Glengarry involves four real estate salesmen competing for their jobs (and a new Cadillac), their office manager, a client with second thoughts, and the mysterious disappearence of the newest, freshest, most promising sales leads#–all set circa 1984 (or so). Mamet takes that structure and creates a verbal stew that is so specific with its rhythms and verbage that within moments of the curtain rising, you are inexplicably drawn into the world of the play. And then the drama begins.

No play can exist without drama#–the thing that happens that’s out of the ordinary#–and Mamet begins Glengarry thick in the midst of drama. There is no specific inciting incident#–instead, we are left to catch up to the drama. Something is wrong, and the salesmen are not happy about it. Alan Alda (as Shelly Levine) gives a master performance, showing a weasley side that we don’t often get to see. His character is easy to side with, his job on the line and his history of successes easily forgotten by his bottom-line conscious office manager (Frederick Weller as John Williamson). The crux of the situation is that the office is behind in sales, and all of the men are at risk of losing their jobs. But the salesmen have grievences too#–the leads they’ve been given are old and played out; they are selling to the same people over and over again and no one but Richard Roma (played by Liev Schreiber) seems to be doing well. But Schreiber is using the "Glenngary" leads#–the good leads that are reserved for the top salesmen.

As the play develops, all of the characters exhibit a desperate need to get ahead#–Dave Moss (strongly played by Gordon Clapp), the gruff, disaffected older salesman, has had enough and plots revenge by knocking off the office late at night. George Aranow (played by Jeffrey Tambor) unwittingly learns of the scheme and has to decide whether to go along, or risk being implicated (blackmailed) even if he doesn’t.

Only Richard Roma doesn’t feel the heat: and in the third scene of Act I, we discover why. Roma is a master salesman. Like a solemn poet, he paints the air with complicated solecisms, drawing his prey into his confidence. He speaks of everything but the sale#–of power, determination, riches. And he waits to pounce until he knows he’s won#–only then does he introduce himself, and only then does he get around to what he’s really after: he’s selling land. His prospect is a meek, humble man (James Lingk, brilliantly and unexpectedly played by Tom Wopat), clearly enamored with the idea of being like Roma: after all, that’s what Roma is really selling#–the opportunity to be a man, a spartan man like himself.

Not a lot really takes place in the course of the play#–and like so many of Mamet’s works, the true journey takes place in the verbal exchanges between these high-strung characters. Every action, every word holds mountains of meaning, and a character’s choices are made based on the hyper-observances he makes of his fellows. In one exchange, Roma is trying to convince Lingk not to back out of a deal#–he needs to get out of the office and away from the confrontation so that he doesn’t lose the sale. Levine acts as a fake client with an emergency appointment at the airport, chiming in on cue ("I really need to get to the airport") every time Roma makes a specific gesture towards his hair. The result is like a fine ballet#–every movement and utterance hinging on the next, and each moment a world at stake.

The performances (with the exception of Fred Weller, who looked out of his league playing a very strict, planned performance) were amazingly alive#–I don’t know that I’ve seen a play where the actors were so aware of one another, and so in tune. Especially Liev Schreiber#–the deserving winner of a Tony award Sunday night for his performance as Richard Roma. The character of Roma is brusque, conflict heavy, and vulgar. Schreiber made the character something more#–a man who only behaves the way he does out of necessity; a genuinely caring man (his exchanges with Alda especially) who sees his actions having specific consequences, and who orchestrates his future by knowing himself well enough to change his behavior and his actions to suit his purposes. If you have the chance to see this show, it is worth it just to see Schreiber in action.

The most surprising performance was given my Tom Wopat#–I don’t know that he has received a lot of recognition in his portrayal of James Lingk, but he deserves a great deal. If you know anything of Wopat, you surely know him as the masculine, square-jawed handsome brute that he normally plays. In Glengarry, he was nearly unrecognizable#–I literally checked my Playbill to see if his character wasn’t being played by a standby. Weak, simpering, and totally believable as the wife-whipped client who wants his money back, Wopat completely redefines his capabilities as an actor, and possibly his casting in the future.

The set was well thought out and expertly constructed. The ignition of the flourescent office lighting received a round of applause the night I attended#–I’m not sure if the lighting designer deserves the credit for that, or whether it belongs to someone else, but clearly it went over well. Overall, I thought it was a very realistic portrayal of scenic elements, and while not too fancy, it was very effectively implemented.

Fans of David Mamet will be well served by seeing this production of Glengarry Glenross, and fans of well produced, well acted, and well directed dramas will be equally satisfied. Go see it before it closes, so you won’t have to listen to how brilliant it was and feel left out.