Although its humor is often dark, comedy does not escape this production. As the precociously naive and fashion-impaired George Aaronow, Juri Henley-Cohn ('00) delicately handles and balances a role which, had it been exaggerated, might have destroyed the naturalism of the piece. As Shelley Levene, an aging seller desperate for a comeback, Paul Monteleoni ('00) continually provides the play with energy and freshness. If ever this humorous vitality turns unwieldy, Monteleoni always manages to rein himself back in with a sudden change of tone or an expression that reestablishes realism in the scene. Although saddled with one of the play's less developed characters, Ray Courtney ('01) as Baylen displays comfort and wry humor in his role.

The beauty of Glengarry is that Mamet presents his characters not merely as the machinations they often portray, but as people with feelings, families, and vulnerabilities that are shared and exploited. Here the character of James Lingk (Joe Gfaller '00), is essential. As a reluctant client of Roma's, Gfaller's uneasiness and pitiable entreaties serve to reveal the cruelty of the system and all its deception.

Unlike their characters, the actors do not compete for top slot. Each takes a calm but definite possession of the stage without eclipsing the other actors. Although their motivations lack sharpness and definition at times, the actors have done excellent work creating very real and complex characters whose interactions are made all the more absorbing by the intimacy of the Kronauer space.

Glengarry is a world of incessant motion. The characters are constantly rising up and down like the figures they so jealously keep track of on a chalkboard - struggling to gain power, reveling in their moment of glory, only to come crashing down a moment later. It is a world where men suppress their own humanity in order to become the "machine" - the ideal businessman - cool, collected, always closing a deal. It's a ripped contract. It's life.

And it's brilliant.