'Glengarry Glen Ross' Broadway review — starry revival plays like an ordinary day at the office
Read our review of Glengarry Glen Ross on Broadway, a revival of David Mamet's Pulitzer Prize-winning play starring Kieran Culkin, Bob Odenkirk, and Bill Burr.
In a star-studded Broadway revival, name recognition should be the key to success. Glengarry Glen Ross coasts by: It assumes you’ve heard of the play, you’ve heard of David Mamet, and you’ve seen the actors — Succession's Kieran Culkin, Breaking Bad's Bob Odenkirk, and comedian Bill Burr are the marquee stars — on your TV. Director Patrick Marber’s production, now running at the Palace Theatre, relies too obviously on such conceits to get you in the door and laughing along. What was once a fast-paced, no-holds-barred drama in which the plot takes on life-or-death stakes for its characters now feels like another day at the office. This Glengarry Glen Ross has no sense of urgency, place, or purpose.
Marber’s directorial touch is so delicate as to be invisible; the production instead hopes the audience’s nostalgia for the story will fuel their applause. Mamet’s language and characterizations of competitive real estate agents, once bold and inventive, are commonplace in today's realist theatre and no longer give an impression of individuality or, indeed, shock value. (Only a Mamet newcomer would be shocked by a racially charged rant.)
Why revive such a story today, a story about the unscrupulous nature of men and capitalism? It does not appear that Marber or the cast knows the answer. After the first act, about 40 minutes in, Glengarry Glen Ross takes an intermission to change out designer Scott Pask’s set. Gone is the chiaroscuro of a Chinese restaurant, replaced by the meticulous chaos of a burglarized office.
Both sets are detailed and effective, but to what end? Is there anything to be gained by taking an early intermission for a set change besides showing off, without enhancing the story? We know Pask can design and the Emmy and Academy Award-winning actors are talented (the less-lauded Michael McKean and John Pirruccello also deserve praise in their supporting roles); what we don’t know is why they’re all here, in pursuit of further accolades in a production that feels as directionless as its characters' careers.
Glengarry Glen Ross summary
Glengarry Glen Ross follows a group of real estate agents battling to be their office’s top seller. Shelley Levene (Odenkirk) is down on his luck after prior success and is now desperate to strike a deal with his boss, John Williamson (Donald Webber Jr.). Dave Moss (Burr) concocts a scheme to get ahead and screw Williamson over in the process, and he tries to recruit the affable George Aaronow (a delightful McKean) to take the fall for him.
Meanwhile, top seller Richard Roma (Culkin) is eager to receive the company’s Cadillac kickback when he discovers two setbacks: His new client, James Lingk (Pirruccello) wants his deposit back, and someone has broken into the office and made off with a pile of contracts and contacts.
What to expect at Glengarry Glen Ross
Glengarry Glen Ross runs approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission. The play’s dialogue includes cursing and instances of racial and gender-based discrimination, as well as references to sex and violence. Glengarry Glen Ross also depicts the consumption of alcohol.
What audiences are saying about Glengarry Glen Ross
Glengarry Glen Ross has an audience approval rating of 75% on the review aggregator Show-Score.
- Show-Score user MaxD noted that the “talented cast delivered strong performances,” but that the intermission placement “eliminated what little momentum there was” and was “necessitated by a set change rather than the length of the play.”
- BlueSky user The Rude Pundit praised the cast of Glengarry Glen Ross, “even if I disagree with directorial choices.”
- Show-Score user Broadway Adjacent also praised the cast, saying that the actors are “firing on all cylinders.”
Read more audience reviews of Glengarry Glen Ross on Show-Score.
Who should see Glengarry Glen Ross
- Fans of HBO’s Succession and last year’s film A Real Pain have the chance to see recent Academy Award winner Kieran Culkin in Glengarry Glen Ross.
- Similarly, fans of AMC’s Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul have the chance to see cast members Bob Odenkirk and Bill Burr reunited on stage in Marber’s production.
- If you enjoyed the Broadway production of Tom Stoppard’s play Leopoldstadt, you won’t want to miss Tony Award-winning director Patrick Marber’s return to Broadway.
Learn more about Glengarry Glen Ross on Broadway
While Culkin, Odenkirk, and Burr make top billing in Glengarry Glen Ross, the performances of Broadway veteran McKean and newcomer Pirruccello give Mamet’s play heart and soul.
Photo credit: Glengarry Glen Ross on Broadway. (Photos by Emilio Madrid)
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