TELEMARKETING SURE IS A PITCH
There’s nothing like a fascinating story, and that’s what’s in store with The Pitch, now at the Odyssey Theatre directed by Louie Liberti. If you’ve ever done telemarketing, it can be a cold and brutal business, because — of course — the bottom line is sales, and as we have found out when our phone rings in the middle of the night to sell us life insurance (actually, if we could ever find where these cockroaches are hanging out on the globe, it is they who will need life insurance), some teenager on less than minimum wage isn’t for the job, which takes a strong constitution and personality and knowing how to bend the truth.
Albie Selznick, Conner Killeen, Tom Alper, Monty Renfrow, Chris Cox
William Warren, Tom Alper
Playwright Tom Alper puts us in a boiler room no-frills office in Torrance which looks like the inside of a mobile truck really. Into this den of a motley crew of telemarketers comes widower Tom Allen, played to perfection by the hangdog-faced Alper, who is desperate for bucks that he needs to raise his 15-year-old daughter. He’ll find out that ethics, competition and misrepresentation are all part of the game. Who here is telling the truth as they sell machine parts over the phone?
Tom Alper, Conner Killeen, Chris Cox, Albie Selznick
Monty Renfrow, Tom Alper
Adding to Tom’s stress is that he finds he owes back taxes, but I.R.S agent Mel (William Warren) is ready to make a deal of his own involving Tom’s congenial boss. With a tip-top highly distinctive ensemble, I recommend this fun outing — based on a true story — because it always keeps you guessing, and the ending is quite a shocker.
Chris Cox, Albie Selznick
photos by Jessica Sherman
Tom Alper (l.), Albie Selznick, Joseph Lorenzo, Chris Cox
The Pitch
Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd
Fri & Sat at 7:30; Sun at 3
ends on August 4, 2024
for tickets ($25-$30), call 310.477.2055 or visit Odyssey Theatre
Tom Alper, Isabella Dibernardino
Isabella Dibernardino, Grant Hall
