Glengarry Glen Ross

Attleboro Community Theatre kicks off its season with an impressive production of "Glengarry Glen Ross," David Mamet's gritty, Pulitzer Prize-winning darkly comic drama about a group of sleazy Chicago real estate salesmen.

First staged in 1983 and later made into a 1992 movie with Al Pacino and Alec Baldwin, "Glengarry" features Mamet's trademark profanity, off-putting dialogue, blatant disregard for political correctness and inappropriate behavior. Nevertheless, this work is considered a contemporary classic because of its profound, underlying statement about our society and an individual's self-worth.

This rough pack of arguably soulless albeit well-dressed agents includes resident veteran Shelly "The Machine" Levene (Bruce Church), long in the tooth and losing his touch, Dave Moss (Dave Almeida), a seasoned, hungry shark willing to conspire to come out ahead, Ricky Roma (John Campbell), the most eloquent and successful yet shadiest of the bunch, and George Aaronow (Craig O'Connor), an underperformer with an actual conscience. At the helm of this off-putting operation is John Williamson (Chris Cournoyer), a younger, inexperienced foot soldier, as he is often reminded by those he oversees.

In a 1980s-era office (absent of laptops and mobile phones), perfectly recreated on stage by set designer Kevin Boisse, the agents are in a race with each other to close the most sales, and the winner's reward is a brand new Cadillac. The fact that they are peddling worthless swampland to unsuspecting buyers is irrelevant and seemingly of no concern.

These men are first introduced over three separate conversations. At the office, Shelly begs John for the coveted Glengarry leads. Over lunch at a Chinese restaurant, Dave tells George about a plan to steal the leads. Soon thereafter, Ricky pitches a restaurant patron, James Lingk (Billy Castro).

After the office is burgled, Shelly waltzes in on a high because of a closed sale, but his renewed faith in himself is short-lived.

While the play makes for an intriguing whodunit, the story is really about deception and the ugliness of greed that can lead to unspeakable behavior. A new set of wheels may be at the finish line, but these men know it's just a matter of time before they are disqualified.

Church is outstanding as Shelly, perfectly conveying the self-absorbed elder who wrongly believes he is indestructible. Campbell's exaggerated prose and testy temperament personifies the snake oil salesman and his steadfast portrayal of Ricky doesn't miss a beat.

Almeida and O'Connor complement each other well as respective conspirator and victim, Moss and Aaronow, and Cournoyer's purposeful, understated performance culminates with a powerful tirade, directed at George, and a dogged dismissal of Shelly.

The collective strength of the actors' performances under the pointed direction of Mario Carneiro, coupled with Mamet's crude yet clever script, makes "Glengarry Glen Ross" at ACT a worthy investment.

"Glengarry Glen Ross" runs through Oct. 25 at Attleboro Community Theatre, 71 North Main Street in Attleboro, MA. For info or tickets, call 508-226-8100 or visit www.attleborocommunitytheatre.com.