Real estate office houses cut-throat artists

A new production of a modern classic is now playing locally. “Glengarry Glen Ross,” David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, is being staged at the Live Oak Theater in Berkeley. 
The play follows the a group of huckster real-estate agents in their quest to dupe as many people as possible into buying questionable properties. One of the realtors, Dave Moss (Kevin Karrick), who is particularly believable, robs the real estate office for coveted sales-leads. 
He attempts to enlist George Aaronow (Michael Torres) in his scheme, using what seems to be the same sales tactics he uses on his would-be clients. As the working-man’s conspiracy unfolds, the sad lives and desires of both the realtors and their buyers are brought to the brink of tragedy. 
For those familiar with the play’s 1992 film adaptation, there may be some disappointment that Alec Baldwin does not appear to give his infamous “always be closing” speech. But one can take solace in the fact that this production of “Glengarry Glen Ross” stays true to the original play’s script, which does shy away from the racism, profanity, or moral vacancy of the era it portrays. 
Michael Storm, the director of the production, also plays Ricky Roma, perhaps the most morally ambiguous character in the play. Roma convinces a man in a bar into buying real-estate after giving him a monologue about the meaninglessness of the universe, concluding that “there is no measure, only greed.”
While the play is set in the 80’s its themes could fit in just as well in any other decade of the last century. The play could be seen (especially in post-2009 financial meltdown) world as a metaphor for the cannibalism of the American middle class and the desperation, as well as delusion that fuels a culture of easy-money and false hope. The play handles the darkness of its themes well, however, and with notable humor. Audiences can expect some big laughs. The quiet park the theater is located in, its small stage and the student discount should all be enough to bring in some Peralta’s pupils. There is an intimacy of live theater that Netflix can never match no matter how high one’s bandwidth is. If thats enough, Storm promises that at the very least the play will “leave you swearing like a sailor.”