Barebones company brings Mamet classic ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ to Pittsburgh stage

“Glengarry Glen Ross”

Nov. 12-29

New Hazlett Theater

Tickets: $20 in advance,

$25 at… “Glengarry Glen Ross”

Nov. 12-29

New Hazlett Theater

Tickets: $20 in advance,

$25 at the door

www.showclix.com

Even in a time plagued by recession, people are still able to find solace in the magical world of live theater. Now, thanks to the new Barebones Productions mounting of David Mamet’s “Glengarry Glen Ross,” people can actually be entertained by the inner workings and dynamics of the normally depressing real estate business.

“Ross” is the 2009-10 season opener for Barebones Productions. Barebones artistic director Patrick Jordan has a finger in every pie when it comes to bringing this production to the New Hazlett Theatre stage. He nursed the production in its infant stages by assembling the show’s artistic team. Jordan worked with the directors and designers he found to cast the actors. Jordan himself was lucky enough to land the role of Ricky Roma, one of show’s leading men.

“Ricky Roma is the flashiest and top salesman in the office. [He is] not afraid to say what’s on his mind at any given time. But when there is a threat that he could lose the sales he worked so hard for, he loses his composure like the rest of the guys,” Jordan said.

Barebones Productions has been taking the Steel City’s theater scene by storm for nearly seven years now. The theater has tackled the work of Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning “August: Osage County” playwright Tracy Letts, Neil LaBute and Kenneth Lonergan, among others. For Jordan, the chance to stage a production of this Mamet masterpiece was very exciting, and the choice to do so was an easy one.

“I think this show is one of the best American plays of the last 30 years. It fits our aesthetic [at Barebones Productions] perfectly. Actually, it is basically the archetype of the plays we are attracted to: great for actors and has balls,” he said.

The task of bringing this work to the New Hazlett stage is completely in the hands of director Melissa Martin. She has collaborated with Barebones once before, in November of 2005 with their production of Byrony Lavery’s “Frozen.”

“Glengarry Glen Ross” is a dramatization of the business world, specifically real estate, told through the lives of four corporate sharks based in the windy city of Chicago. When the stakes of a particular property deal get extremely high, each man is pushed to his moral limit. The thrill of this play comes from the audience’s revelations about what the characters will do for the sake of their professional reputations.

It is a revelation that theatergoers have been experiencing since the play’s Broadway opening in 1984. In its original run, “Ross” was denied the top honor of Best Original Play, but playwright David Mamet got the last laugh when he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama the same year of the show’s premiere.

Director James Foley brought the play to the big screen in 1992, where it received equally positive critical reviews. The film starred Jack Lemmon, Kevin Spacey, Alan Arkin and Alec Baldwin in a role specifically created for the movie.

But the stars of the Barebones Production do not find themselves looking to the movie for inspiration in their on-stage characterizations. Bingo O’Malley inhabits the Jack Lemmon role of Shelley “The Machine” Levene, but he feels that the best inspiration for any role comes from within a person and the words of the playwright.

“Inspiration for any role is found in a well-written script; [this is] especially true for a remarkable playwright such as Mamet,” O’Malley said.

O’Malley has stepped into the signature Shelley Levene business suit before in a 1986 production of “Ross.” He is something of an icon in the Pittsburgh theater scene, and his long resume includes acting roles in plays like “Death of a Salesman,” “All My Sons” and “The Gin Game.” Still, though, he cannot escape the symptomatic eagerness of an opening night.

Whether it is done up blockbuster style or down to the barebones, “Glengarry Glen Ross” is a thought-provoking, interesting and remarkably relevant play despite its 25 years of existence.

The world can only hope that, just like this production, the real-life problems associated with the play will only be around for a limited engagement.