Act One of David Mamet’s “Glengarry Glen Ross” currently running at the Palace Theatre takes place at a well-apportioned Chinese restaurant. Skillfully navigating Mamet’s iconic wordy text with rapid-fire delivery – in both monologues and dialogues – five realtors, their office manager, and a client with buyer’s remorse provide the exposition needed for the audience to parse Act Two. This is not a small feat since Mamet shares the pantheon of wordsmiths who have mastered the use of vocabulary and syntax which includes, in part, Edward Albee, James Baldwin, T. S. Eliot, Ernest Hemingway, Langston Hughes, Nora Zeale Hurston, Harold Pinter, Tennessee Williams, and Lorriane Hansberry.

The four meetings in the Chinese restaurant introduce all six characters and take a deep dive into their motivations, their strengths, their weaknesses, their successes, and their failures. Mamet’s diction and syntax are sharp and surgically cut through the layers of the denial mechanisms and the defense mechanisms of each character. The conversations in these also reveal the important themes of the narrative and raise rich and enduring questions about capitalism and greed, morality and corruption, and toxic masculinity.

In the first scene, John Williamson (a low-key but clever Donald Webber, Jr.) and Shelley Levine (a conniving and underhanded Bob Odenkirk) broker a deal to give Levene an opportunity to regain his former glory of “always closing” real estate deals. The toxic dynamics between realtor and office manager and the deal struck between them sacrifice loyalty and morality for one person’s survival. Levine agrees to give Williamson fifty bucks for each premium lead he receives.

In the second scene, Dave Moss (and aggressive and toxic Bill Burr) convinces George Aranow (a compliant yet cautious Michael McKean) to steal five thousand leads from the real estate office which Moss will then sell to Jerry Graff for five thousand dollars which will be split between them. The theft will be staged to look like a robbery. “When does greed lead to corruption” is the enduring question here.

Richard Roma’s (a conniving yet likable Kieran Culkin) and James Lingk’s (a milk toast yet calculating John Pirruccello) conversation in the third scene highlights how Roma’s charisma is often overshadowed by his ruthlessness in scoring a closing with a client. Roma sweet talks forty-something Baylen into purchasing property in Florida’s Glengarry Highlands. That twenty-eight-thousand-dollar deal keeps Roma at number one in sales and in line to win the coveted Cadillac.

The second act which takes place in the ransacked Real Estate office proves this maxim true: “Relentless pursuit of success comes at a devastating cost.” There was a robbery, and someone stole the premium leads; however, it was not the Dave Moss and George Aranow team. To reveal who the thief was would require a spoiler alert. It is far better to allow Mamet’s masterful writing and Patrick Marber’s equally masterful direction to reveal the slow burning in Act Two leading to the climax, the falling action, and the resolution. Is it important to reveal that Williamson and Levene did not receive their hoped for five thousand dollars. The deal that Leven brokered with his “hot lead” fell through. Roma’s coerced deal with Baylen, whose wife insisted he back out of the deal, also fell through despite the chicanery Roma tried performing to make Baylen take the deal.

The ensemble cast is brilliant and bring authenticity and believability to each of their characters. The character development Mamet builds into the narrative is deftly accomplished by the cast. Scott Pask’s production design beautifully lighted by Jen Schriever make this a stunning and not to be missed “Glengarry Glen Ross.”