GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS
by David Mamet
Directed by Patrick Marber
Starring Kieran Kulkin, Bob Odenkirk, Bill Burr
Palace Theatre
Official Website
Reviewed by David Spencer
Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet is always a compelling play, and the current Broadway revival is no exception to that effect, but the casting of two key roles is a bit odd for me. None of its characters are “likeable,” per se, but the role of Shelley Levine is the play’s emotional hub. A once-effective salesman, he’s lost his youthful edge. Previously on Broadway, he’s been played by Robert Prosky (succeeded by Vincent Gardenia and Howard Witt), Alan Alda and, having aged into it, Al Pacino. And Jack Lemmon in the film. Each is miles different from the other, yet each provided a point of empathy; that wonderful contradiction, when it can be pulled off, of having you root for the guy, not because he’s doing admirable things, but because he’s the underdog who still has admirable fight in him. But Bob Odenkirk’s Shelley starts out with an edgy anger that seems more suited to another character, Dave Moss (played excellently by Bill Burr). It also seems—I don’t know how better to put this—like he’s acting. Previous actors were channeling Shelley through their own personae; Mr. Odenkirk, per se, doesn’t seem to be present. Another misfire is Kieran Culkin as super salesman Ricky Roma. I recently read an appraisal of the character asserting that Roma’s strength is that he mostly tells the truth, at least as he sees it, He doesn’t con his mark with lies, but rather by speaking to the mark’s innermost desire to be something other, stronger, better. That takes a very smooth approach; but Culkin’s Roma is more feral. When we meet him, he’s on the hustle. It makes his famous Act Two “aria” less of a surprise.
It is, however, entirely possible that Culkin’s, and very possibly Odenkirk’s, overplaying the hands the play deals them, is down to director Patrick Marber pushing, encouraging or enabling a more “spelled out” interpretation. (Which may also be down to Marber being British and missing a peculiarly American nuance and rhythm; that one’s hard to parse, Mr. Marber’s a fairly hip fellow—he only recently directed a smash-hit revival of The Producers at the Mernier Chocolate Factory, about to transfer to the West End—but it’s a real phenomenon; one that can manifest in reverse as well. Was its brassiness an influence? In any event, one has to consider Marber complicit in the interpretations of the, ahem, Glengarry leads.) The play is strong enough to withstand this, however, and the rest of the casting is spot on; I particularly liked Donald Webber, Jr. as beleaguered office manager John Williamson.
If you’ve never seen Glengarry Glen Ross live before, this revival is not at all a bad way to experience it for the first time. But if you’ve had the privilege of previous exposure that you enjoyed…you can probably give this one a pass without regrets.