Daren Herbert, Bart Anderson and Eric McCormack lead a talented ensemble in the Arts Club production of Glengarry Glen Ross.

Credit: Supplied

STAGE: ‘Glengarry’ an easy sell

The brilliance of David Mamet’s Tony Award-winning Glengarry Glen Ross is equal parts brevity, character, and believability. The Arts Club mostly stays faithful to this formula, and adds some hometown star power to the testosterone-fueled production with the addition of Emmy Award winner and occasional Vancouverite Eric McCormack (Will and Grace).

It’s Chicago, 1984, and times are tough, especially in the shady world of real-estate speculation. Shelley Levene (Gerard Plunkett), once a sales demi-god known as “Levene the Machine,” is now clinging to the bottom rung of a changing corporate environment. Unable to close a deal, he gets the second-tier leads, but in a Catch-22, the crappy leads are the reason he can’t close a deal. Desperate, he begs his manager, John (Vincent Gale), who’s a good 20 years his junior, for something better.

Meanwhile, slick-tongued Dave (John Pyper-Fergusen) tries to convince low-key George (Brian Markinson) to break into the sales office to steal the premium leads. Both are struggling to stay on the sales board, which is consistently topped by Ricky (McCormack), the smoothest shark in the office. The real action unfolds in the aftermath of the office break-in. With tensions high, a series of verbally violent confrontations ensue, each more impressive and more revealing than the next.

After a rough start on the Arts Club stage during opening night, which includes microphone issues and some stiffness, the actors relax into their respective roles, making the stage a veritable powder keg of desperation, arrogant machismo, and sleaze. Gale has a few minutes to shine, but for the most part he seems wasted here, often simply on the receiving end of another character’s tirades. Similarly, Markinson is cast in a less flashy role, and frequently disappears into the scenery. Pyper-Fergusen is wonderful as the volatile Dave, and McCormack executes his return to the Vancouver stage with aplomb — his Ricky is tense and charming, a sociopath in a skinny navy suit.

But it’s Plunkett who steals the show, embodying Shelley’s sad angst and resounding confidence with equal nuance. Plunkett makes his character so sympathetic and pathetically relatable that his ultimate undoing is visceral.

As the final lie is revealed, the audience lets out a collective breath they weren’t even aware they were holding.

As written by Mamet, Glengarry Glen Ross is resoundingly manipulative and taut. The cast need only tap into the rhythm the playwright sets, and they are virtually symphonic in their mounting crescendos of anger and defeat, making this a powerful cap to one of the finest Arts Club seasons in recent memory.

Glengarry Glen Ross runs to Aug. 22 at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage (2750 Granville), 8pm (Tues 7:30pm). Matinees Sat-Sun, 2pm. $25-$63 from 604-687-1644 and ArtsClub.com.