'Glengarry' a Sales Pitch from Start to Finish

When you buy tickets for the ’ production of David Mamet’s play “Glengarry Glen Ross,” which opens Friday, Director Chase Newhart recommends finding a sitter.

“There is strong language in this,” Newhart said. “It’s guys-in-a-locker-room vocab, and nobody should come to this play who isn’t ready for guys-in-a-locker-room talking.”

The play, which centers around Chicago real estate salesmen in the 1960s, also contains a certain amount of sleaze and desperation, Newhart said, which is part of why he thinks the play is so appropriate.

“All these salesmen are kind of desperate, which is kind of fitting for these tough times,” he said. “These guys are at the end of their ropes.”

Newhart said he is a big fan of Mamet’s work, but that in the past he’s had difficulty convincing local playhouses to put on his work, especially “Glengarry Glen Ross.” The play has a cast of seven men, and community theaters traditionally see many more women coming to auditions than men.

“We had a phenomenal audition for this show,” Newhart said. “We had 54 guys, and it was a real struggle to whittle it down to seven.”

Several of the seven have worked with Newhart or in nearby theaters and may be familiar to Chatham Playhouse attendees. Jeff Maschi, who plays Dave Moss, stared as the priest in “Doubt” at the Summit Playhouse last season. Newhart was his director in that production as well. Robert Mackesek, who plays George Aaranow, starred as Willy Loman in “Death of a Salesman” in Westfield last season. Michael King, who played the narrator in “Into The Woods” at the Chatham Playhouse last season, returns as Shelly Levene.

The play also includes Jeffrey Jackson as John Williamson, Noah Lee Margetts as Ricky Roma, Frank Briamonte as Baylen (the detective), and Lorenzo Sapienza as James Lingk.

“Lorenzo’s a pretty funny guy,” Newhart said. “If you send him an e-mail, he’ll respond in character. He’s the one guy in this who plays a client, which is great for Mamet to introduce that.”

The salesmen peddle deeds to swampland in Florida advertised as housing tracts with evocative names like “Glengarry Highlands” and “Glen Ross Farms.” They use and abuse each other for sales leads. “It gives you some idea for how they come on to these clients,” Newhart said. “It’s a sales pitch."

Tickets for "Glengarry Glen Ross" are available now, $20 for adults and $18 for children and seniors. Performances are on Fridays and Saturdays between March 4 and March 19 at 8 p.m., and on March 13 at 3 p.m. Check out the Chatham Community Players website for box office information.