Pitching Glengarry is pure pleasure

Three words to describe last night’s performance of Glengarry Glen Ross at the Rochester Opera House.

Bravo. Bravo. Bravo.

If there was such a thing as a theater pimp I’d be leaning right now against the magnificent edifice of the Rochester Opera House like Harvey Keitel in Taxi Driver, one leg half cocked up behind me against the wall - across from the police station no less: “Hey, you, guy walking down the street, want to see a ----ing amazing theater event. Go inside tell the lady behind the ticket window you want a ducat to Glengarry Glen Ross. It’s ----ing amazing.”

Make no mistake about it. This is a rough and tumble explosive adult drama, full of F-bombs and vulgarity.

But, as high-pressure, sweaty salesmen protagonists say in the play: “Think of it as an opportunity” to see some of the finest theatrical work you’ll see in Rochester, N.H., or anywhere else for that matter. A-N-Y-W-H-E-R-E.

In David Mamet’s 1984 Pulitzer-winning play it’s “all about the leads” as a handful of salesman duke it out to see who wins a sales contest that’ll give one an Eldorado and another the boot.

And so it was last night as “the leads” in this play – a believable and riveting ensemble cast that would make Mamet, himself, proud – mesmerized an audience seated on stage with the actors in an ROH groundbreaking event.

Director Heather Glenn Wixson wanted the audience to feel trapped, feel the hot and sweaty intimacy of a testosterone-filled real estate sales office full of cutthroat salesman who’ll do anything to make a buck.

It worked. From cunning and smarmy Richard Roma (Jonathan Rockwood Hoar) to bumbling and confidence-challenged George Aaronow (Robert Macadaeg) to aging, once-a-superstar-now Mr. Irrelevant Shelley Levine (Peter Motson), the ensemble cast made audience members laugh, cry and fall silent as was their whim.

They had us in the palm of their sweaty little hands, ready to sign on the dotted line like one of their marks, er clients.

One of the most memorable scenes is David Moss (Anthony Ejarque) trying to coax and cudgel Aaronow into stealing the leads. The two are brilliant.

In the end, Aaronow withstands the shrewd Moss’ tactics to enlist him in the plot, but another salesman isn’t so resilient.

Michael Stailey and Tim Robinson round out this thoroughly compelling, thoroughly delightful cast.

Glengarry Glen Ross continues at the Rochester Opera House through next weekend, with matinees and evening shows.

For more information call 603-335-1992 or go to http://rochesteropearhouse.com.

Only 80 tickets are available per show.

As Ricky Roma would say rhetorically, “Where is the moment?”

If you love theater, it’s now.