I somehow missed (a) Thursday night’s Live Read of the screenplay/film version of David Mamet‘s Glengarry Glen Ross, which was performed by an all-female cast (terrific idea!) and then (b) Sean Fennesssey‘s account of same on Grantland, which appeared yesterday afternoon.

Fennessey begins by quoting LACA Film Series curator Elvis Mitchell: “‘The melancholy of the blues and the immediacy of jazz…his characters are hard-hearted and hardheaded, so I thought women can do that,.’ That was how Mitchell [introduced] the conceit of last night’s Live Read. Mamet’s terse, rhythmic story tracks four real estate salesmen (and scam artists) desperately working through the night on the eve of a robbery. The Live Read, a semi-regular event at LACMA, is a quiet, clever, only-in-L.A. happening where the city’s access to celebrity and artists is actually used for good.”

Robin Wright as Ricky Roma, originated by Al Pacino, but more primally by Joe Mantegna in the original stage production. Catherine O’Hara as Shelley Levene, originated by Jack Lemmon or Robert Prosky in the stage version. Melanie Lynskey as George Aaronow, originated by Alan Arkin. Maria Bello as Dave Moss, originated by Ed Harris. Mae Whitman as John Williamson, originated by Kevin Spacey. And Carla Gugino as Blake (“set of steak knives”), originated by Alec Baldwin.