Middletown

Bozeman Daily CHRONICLE

‘Middletown’ readings explore life in a small American town

January 15, 2016 

Following Fall 2015’s blazing revival of “Glengarry Glen Ross,” Bozeman Actors Theatre presents two staged readings of Will Eno’s award-winning comedy-drama “Middletown.” Performances will be Thursday, Jan. 21, at Verge Theatre in Bozeman, and Friday, Jan. 22, at the Shane Lalani Center for the Arts in Livingston. Both performances will be at 7:30 p.m. A $10 donation to offset costs is requested at the door. Audiences are invited to stay for a discussion of the play with the cast following each performance.

The critically acclaimed “Middletown” is a deeply moving and funny play exploring the universe of a small American town. The lives of the inhabitants of Middletown intersect in strange and poignant ways in a journey that takes them from the local library to outer space and all points between. Often described as a modern-day “Our Town,” Eno offers up an old-fashioned version of small-town life that is familiar but with a tilt to the surreal.

Eno’s spare, fragile dialogue finds humanity deep in subtext, creating plays at once realistic and highly poetical. Regarding Eno’s nuance and humor, The London Telegraph stated, “It’s hard to imagine more dazzling writing on any stage,” and critic Charles Isherwood likened Eno’s style to a “Samuel Beckett for the Jon Stewart generation.”

The cast of Middletown features Tonya Andrews, Claire Barley, Gordon Carpenter, Maya Dickerson, Kari Doll, Richard Dunbar, Ryan Lawrence Flynn, Emily Jones, Colter Langan, Mark Richard, Dee Dee Van Zyl, Steven Harris-Weiel and Cara Wilder.

No advanced reservations are required and both performances will have general admission seating. For more information, visit www.bozemanactorstheatre.org, find Bozeman Actors Theatre on Facebook or call 580-0374.

Glengarry Glen Ross

Bozeman Daily CHRONICLE

September 25, 2015

Mamet masterpiece 'Glengarry Glen Ross' opens Sept. 25

Bozeman Actors Theatre presents David Mamet’s award-winning masterpiece “Glengarry Glen Ross,” Sept. 25 through Oct. 4 at the Ellen Theatre. Winner of the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for drama, “Glengarry Glen Ross” is a biting, fast paced comedy-drama about small-time, cutthroat real estate salesmen in Chicago trying to grind out a living as they scramble for their share of the American Dream.

The salesmen resort to tactics such as bribery and theft in an attempt to win an office sales contest. The winner will be rewarded with a new car and the sellers on the bottom will be fired.

“Glengarry Glen Ross,” which is named after properties within the play, is based on Mamet’s experience working in a similar office. A celebrated 1993 film version starred Jack Lemmon and Al Pacino, and the play saw two Broadway revivals within the past decade.

One of the most prolific and influential playwrights of the late 20th century, Mamet’s work is famous for its lean, gritty and often profane language possessed of such a singular rhythm that his dialogue has been dubbed “Mamet speak.” Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino has listed Mamet as one of the key inspirations of his own style of dialogue, derivative of Mamet’s mastery of what has been called “poetry of the profane.”

Directed by Cara Wilder, the ensemble cast features Gordon Carpenter, Richard Dunbar, Daniel Erickson, Colter Langan, Tom Morris, Mark Richard and Francis Wendt.

Performances are Friday through Sunday, Sept. 25 through 27, and Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 1 through 4, with evening curtain at 8 p.m., and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. Advanced tickets are $15-19 (plus fees) at www.theellentheatre.com or by calling the Ellen Theatre box office at (406) 585-5885.

This production is suitable for mature audiences only. For more information, visit www.bozemanactorstheatre.org or call (406) 580-0374.

Glengarry Glen Ross

Legendary ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ coming to downtown Bozeman

Brook Gardner-Durbin

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Backstage at Bozeman’s downtown theater, behind the elaborate red and gold decor dividing the stage from the audience, something is rotten in the state of The Ellen. The Bozeman Actor’s Theatre cast and crew duck under heavy iron weights held aloft by fraying ropes as they prepare the stage, and pipes drip just out of sight of a seated audience, showing every one of their years. Duct tape is put to good use here and there and the props have been through who-knows-how-many previous productions.

 “It looks so regal out here,” said Miriel Waldman, standing among the chairs. A junior in mathematics and chemical engineering, Waldman got involved with the production after enjoying an acting class last semester. “And then behind the curtain there’s nails, and mildew and …” she trailed off, shaking her head.

For another production, all the wear and tear may be a problem. For “Glengarry Glen Ross,” opening this weekend, it’s only fitting. The Pulitzer Prize-winning play, written in 1984, lifts the curtain on a rotten real estate office. It’s a tense, heavy drama about salesmen who have just been told at the end of the month all but the top two sellers will be fired. The pleasure for audience is watching the salesmen twist and squirm in response to the pressure.

And twist and squirm they do. There’s Richard Roma, the current top salesman, who’s been known to stretch the truth to close a sale and Shelly “The Machine” Levene, a has-been looking to close his first big sale in too long. George Aaronow has been a loser so long he’s forgotten what winning feels like but is still the only one in the office with a conscience, and Dave Moss is always hatching plans. Rounding out the cast is the office manager Williamson, James Lingk, a sucker’s sucker who hasn’t a bone in his back, and detective Baylen, played by Frank Wendt, a senior in business and economics.

“The characters are incredibly complex,” said Mark Kuntz, a MSU graduate. As the office manager Williamson, Kuntz finds himself both despised and desperately needed by the salesmen that surround him.

“It’s raw, it’s visceral and it’s really just a treat to act it,” Kuntz said of the play. “It’s a modern American classic.”

Among the public, “Glengarry Glen Ross” may be best known for Alec Baldwin’s famous “Coffee’s for Closers” speech, which Mamet added when writing the screenplay for the 1992 adaptation. The film-and-theatre types, however, invariably know the play and its writer for “Mamet-speak” — David Mamet’s signature dialogue style. Filled with interruptions, unfinished sentences and other quirks, Mamet’s dialogue is a delight to see performed.

“David Mamet is really purposeful; his dialogue is sparing,” said director Cara Wilder. “He writes with a lot of built in pauses … it’s almost like a piece of music.”

Wilder, an assistant teaching professor of acting at MSU, has also the managing director of the Bozeman Actor’s Theatre since it was founded in 2009. Though she is an experienced actress, this is Wilder’s first foray into directing a full-length play.

“We’d been tossing the title around for a while,” Wilder explained. Thanks largely to the “Mamet-speak,” it’s an unusually difficult play for a first-time director, but Wilder knew what she was getting into: “That’s what I like about it,” she said, smiling.

“Glengarry Glen Ross” plays Friday, Sept. 25, Saturday, Sept. 26 and Thursday – Saturday, October 1 – 3, at 8 p.m. Sunday matinees are at 3 p.m. on Sept. 27 and Oct. 4.

Tickets start at $15 and are available at theellentheatre.com or by calling 585-5885.