All-Female GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS to Turn Heads at Curtain Call

Casting women in male roles is nothing new...cross-gender casting goes back to the earliest days of known drama. Even so, when Curtain Call's executive director and artistic head decided to produce David Mamet's testosterone-driven classic, GlenGarry Glenn Ross with all females, he knew heads would turn and tongues would wag. This distaff version of the 1984 Pulitzer Prize winner will play in Curtain Call's Dressing Room Theatre in Stamford, from October 20 through November 6.

"I knew there would be lots of chatter about this on social media and beyond," Ursone said. "Some of it would be positive and some negative. The women in the Fairfield County acting pool would be ecstatic, but the men would want to castrate me for taking such great roles away from them," he added. In fact, Ursone's original intention was to cast two groups of actors, male and female - to perform the show in repertory fashion - but with the extremely full season of shows at the Stamford theatre, it was logistically impossible to make that happen. He decided to stay with the all-female cast and has been thrilled with the rehearsals to date. "Our cast of seven women has fully embraced this script, these characters, and Mamet's specific dialogue style...buckle up," said director, Julie Bell Petrak of South Salem, NY.

The play shows parts of two days in the lives of four desperate Chicago real estate agents who are prepared to engage in any number of unethical, illegal acts-from lies and flattery to bribery, threats, intimidation and burglary-to sell undesirable real estate to unwitting prospective buyers. It is based on Mamet's experience having previously worked in a similar office. The language of the play is raw according to Ursone - definitely rated R. Additionally, this fast-paced play will be presented without intermission - running time 85 minutes.

"Due to the huge pool of amazingly talented females in the area, I'm always looking for great vehicles to showcase them, so this was one way of doing that," Ursone said. "I knew Julie was the perfect person to head the team on this," Ursone added, noting Petrak's work on numerous productions of hers that he has seen. Her last project at Curtain Call - Beau Jest - was so well received, additional performances were added.

"David Mamet became one of my favorite playwrights when I came across this quote from him: 'The theatre is traditionally where people go to hear the truth.' There is an honesty, an almost brutal truth to Mamet's work- and he writes for the actor," Petrak noted. "The Dressing Room Theatre is the perfect venue for this production - the space is intimate - the audience can't help but hang on for the ride that unfolds mere feet from their seats," she added. .

Hundreds, if not thousands, of gender-bent Shakespearean productions occur annually. From the local group called The Lipstick Project, to The Manhattan Shakespeare project in New York and the Woman's Will Collaborative in California, women take on roles normally played by men, often because the male roles are meatier. "Why not do Mamet with women?" Petrak asked. "This particular area has such a wealth of immensely talented female actors," she noted. She was thrilled that Ursone was able to get Mamet's blessing for the cross-gendered version and hopes area audiences will be up for the new look at these fabulous characters.

The cast includes Nancy Anderson (Elmsford, NY), Erica Evelti (Stamford), Paulette Layton (Ridgefield), Marilyn Olsen (Woodbridge), Julie Thaxter-Gourlay (Port Chester, NY), Lynnette Victoria (Bridgeport), and Gail Yudain (Stamford).

Layton and Thaxter-Gourlay are making their Curtain Call debut. Joining Petrak on the creative team are Peter Barbieri, Jr. (Fairfield) handling production design and Christine Mallardi (Norwalk) handling costume design. The stage management team includes Stacy Lupo and Brent McKinley.

Glengarry Glen Ross will play in The Dressing Room Theatre from October 20 through November 6, evenings at 8:00pm and Sunday afternoons at 2:00pm. Seating in The Dressing Room Theatre is cabaret-style with a BYOEverything format. Doors open one hour before curtain time. Regular prices are $32 for adults, $25 for senior citizens and $16 for students and children. Thursday evenings, October 13 and 20 - all seats $25. Discounted FLEX PASSES are available as well and offer significant savings. Box Office: 203-461-6358 or online at www.curtaincallinc.com.

More information is available at www.curtaincallinc.com or by calling 203-461-6358. Curtain Call is the non-profit community-based theatre company in residence at The Sterling Farms Theatre Complex, 1349 Newfield Avenue in Stamford. Year-round productions and workshops are presented by and for area residents in The Kweskin Theatre and The Dressing Room Theatre. Curtain Call was voted Fairfield County's BEST LOCAL THEATRE GROUP ten years running in the Annual Readers' Poll of The Fairfield County Weekly and has received similar BEST OF awards from Stamford Magazine and StamfordPlus magazine for 2008 through 2016. Curtain Call received The Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2011 and the 2016 ACE Award for Excellence in Arts & Culture from the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County.

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