Glengarry Glen Ross is a 1982 play written by David Mamet. The play shows parts of two days in the lives of four desperate Chicago real estate agents who are prepared to engage in any number of unethical, illegal acts -- from lies and flattery to bribery, threats, intimidation, and burglary -- to sell undesirable real estate to unwilling prospective buyers. The play draws partly on Mamet's experiences of life in a Chicago real estate office, where he worked briefly in the late 1960s. The title of the play comes from the names of two of the real estate developments being peddled by the salesmen characters, Glengarry Highlands and Glen Ross Farms.[1] Mamet had sent the play to Harold Pinter for comment, who admired it and, as an associate director to Peter Hall, recommended it for production.[citation needed] As a result the world premiere was at the National Theatre in London on September 21, 1983, where Bill Bryden's production in the Cottesloe was acclaimed as a triumph of ensemble acting.[2] The play opened on Broadway on March 25, 1984 and closed on February 17, 1985. The production was directed by Gregory Mosher and starred Joe Mantegna, Mike Nussbaum, Robert Prosky, Lane Smith, James Tolkan, Jack Wallace, and JT Walsh. The production was nominated for four Tony awards including Best Play, Best Director, and two Best Actor nominations for Robert Prosky and Joe Mantegna, who won the production's one Tony.
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