Glengarry Glen Ross
May 25, 2025 | 317 words | Theater
The current Broadway revival of David Mamet’s 1983 play Glengarry Glen Ross, which has been described as a scathing commentary on capitalism, morality, and masculinity, features three big-name performers who bring a built-in audience to the theater. But this production did not click for me, I am sorry to report.
For one thing, it felt like it was over before it started. It felt more like a sketch than a full-length play. Not having seen this in any of its three previous stage incarnations, my only familiarity is with the 1992 film version, for which I recently learned Mr. Mamet wrote an “extended” screenplay.
Beyond that, though, I found myself out of step with the rest of the audience at the Palace Theater. They seemed to laugh and giggle at every bit of bad behavior and coarse language. A character exits in a barrage of f-bombs, and the audience explodes in applause. A little later a different character has a meltdown that involves knocking over desk chairs and kicking file cabinets and the audience roars as if watching a vintage bit from a Charlie Chaplin film.
What my fellow audience members thought was funny struck me as sad. To them this all played as comedy. To me it was tragedy.
Part of the problem may be that these big-name performers from the world of stand-up comedy and different streaming series are not quite able to shake off or get past their well-established popular personas. They don’t quite get at the heart of what this piece is really about.
But the public obviously loves this production just the way it is. The limited engagement revival is playing to packed houses every night, so I guess that makes it a smashing commercial success. Even so, I can’t help but wonder how David Mamet must feel about his scathing commentary being reduced to little more than an easily digestible sit-com.
Robert J. Cavanaugh, Jr.
bobcavjr@gmail.com