In 1984, playwright David Mamet took the highest honor for a writer, winning the Pulitzer Prize for his play “Glengarry Glen Ross,” which quickly soared from London to New York City’s Broadway the year before.
Eight years later, a film adaptation was written by Mamet which was received with just as much acclaim as the stageplay.
After over thirty-five years, the infamous play has arrived in Baton Rouge to be presented on the Theatre Baton Rouge stage.
The story follows four desperate real estate salesman who use various unethical methods to help sell undesirable properties to unsuspecting buyers. Eventually, one member takes things a bit too far.
“This is an incredibly manly play about manly men trying to show other men how manly they are,” actor Johnny Worsham said.
Johnny Worsham plays Garrett Prest, one of the money-hungry salesmen.
Worsham describes his character, Prest, as being an incredibly cocky man who is never comfortable until everybody in the room acknowledges he is the most important person there.
“‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ is unlike anything I have ever worked on before,” Worsham said.
The two most difficult things were getting use to Mamet’s words, which are written phoenetically, he said. This made for a much more intense experience because of how gritty it makes the scenes that are filled with anger, the actor said.
Worsham said the show’s director Bill Martin pushed the actors to a point none of them had ever tried to reach before, adding another intense experience to the play’s production with Martin pushing the actors to rehearse a scene up to 60 times in a row before they found the necessary emotion.
Worsham said it is always about gaining yards with Martin who would work with them all night to find what the scene needed and then move to the next and worked until they did it again.
“Glengarry Glenn Ross” opens on Feb 12 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 for students and can be purchased at the box office or on Theatre Baton Rouge’s website, theatrebr.org.

Gallery • 17 Photos

Nicholas Martino

Actors perform on stage during their last dress rehearsal of Glengarry Glen Ross on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 at Theatre Baton Rouge.