'Glengarry Glen Ross' opens tonight at Off Center Stage

The Off Center Stage, the Center for the Arts' small "blackbox" theater, has often been a venue for the area's experimental and improvisational performance arts, original stage plays and music. But the fall production, David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross," is a modern classic written more than 20 years ago that's been frequently performed, winning for its author the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1984. Its 2005 Broadway reprise production won the Tony Award for Best Revival.

"Glengarry Glen Ross" gives a glimpse into the lives of four desperate real estate agents who are prepared to engage in unethical and/or illegal acts in order to sell undesirable real estate to unwilling prospective buyers. The play draws partly on Mamet's experiences in a Chicago real estate office, where he worked briefly as a typist in the late 1960s.

Says Director Jimmy McCammon of the cast (John Deaderick, Ian Haines, Paul Micsan, Bob Thomas, T.E Wolfe and Scott Young), "These are some of the finest artists that I've worked with. This script is so graphic and challenging, and their interpretation is so real - and extremely timely."

The show opens tonight and runs until Nov. 11, playing on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Thursdays and Sundays at 7 p.m. Admission is $15 general/$13 seniors and students. Group rates available opening weekend only, $10 tickets for $120. Tickets are available for purchase at the Center for the Arts Box Office (Tuesday-Saturday, 12-5 p.m.); by calling 274-8384, ext. 26; or at the door, if available. The Off Center Stage is located on 315 Richardson St., Grass Valley, behind the Center for the Arts. Contact 274-8384, ext. 14, or visit www.thecenterforthearts.com for more information.