Glengarry Glen Ross at TPAC

In our current state of economic stagnation, David Mamet's electrifying 1982 Pulitzer-winning play about four cutthroat salesmen and the desperate lengths to which they'll stoop to sell incommodious real estate seems especially prescient. Lies, bribery, intimidation and robbery are just a few of the moral compromises that Mamet's shifty sellers consider--and commit--in the grip of fiscal upheaval. Given our current recession, the plight of these characters has only become more real, their dejection more palpable, their story more empathetic. Glengarry isn't just a play about desperation and consequence; it is also a play about persuasion and desire--specifically manifested in the character of Richard Roma, whose rhetorical harangues and hard-sell manipulation (especially of his hapless mark James Lingk) turn the dying art form of selling into a snake charmer's master class. Rene Copeland directs, and Tennessee Rep's cast is loaded with closers: David Alford, Kamal Bolden, David Compton, Henry Haggard, Eric Pasto-Crosby, Brian Russell and Chris Strand. The timing on this performance couldn't be better. Let's hope it doesn't stay that way.
Tuesdays-Saturdays. Starts: Feb. 7. Continues through Feb. 21, 2009