It takes a special kind of actor to do Mamet. You must be hard. You must have rhythm. You must cut. Fuck subtext and motivation—they are for the weak. Pacino is of this tribe. (See his scorching turn as Ricky Roma in the 1992 movie version of Glengarry Glen Ross.) He knows this world of crooked real-estate agents, sweating their balls off to foist lousy lots on patsies. But the great actor is older now, so he’s playing the washed-up, desperate Shelly “The Machine” Levene, who just wants another shot at closing a deal. No one could swagger and bark like Pacino in his prime; now that he’s grizzled and gray, he finds music in wheedling, pleading and a world-weary whine.
The Great White Way will be especially busy this fall—some of the most anticipated new Broadway shows include Annie, Glengarry Glen Ross, Cyrano de Bergerac and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and the Public Theater excites with the Off Broadway play Wild with Happy. Be sure to score theater tickets to see Al Pacino as Shelly Levene in Glengarry, but don’t miss these four other notable actors appearing in New York theaters.
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