With Broadway productions, as with real estate sales, it's all about your leads, and, in theatre terms at least, they don't come much bigger than Al Pacino, who is reportedly set to star in David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross for the second time in his career.

According to the New York Times, the actor is on board to play the struggling salesman Shelley Levene in Mamet's 1982 play, which was first seen at the National Theatre before winning a Pulitzer prize the following year. Levene, a former company star, has fallen on hard times and struggles to make a sale, a fact he blames on the poor tip-offs he's being provided.

In James Foley's 1992 film, Pacino played the company's hot-streak salesman Ricky Roma alongside Jack Lemon as Levene and support from Kevin Spacey and Alex Baldwin. He was nominated for the best supporting actor at that year's Oscars.

The production, which has not been officially announced, would see Pacino reunited with director Daniel Sullivan, who directed him in the Merchant of Venice two years ago. Pacino was nominated for an individual Tony as a result.

Salesman are proving Broadway catnip in these recessionary times. Last week, the revival of Death of a Salesman, which starred Philip Seymour Hoffman and Andrew Garfield, set a new record for the highest ticket price in Broadway history, charging $499 (£321) for its final performance. There have also been rumours of an impending transfer for a Chicago-based production of Eugene O'Neill's An Iceman Cometh, starring Brian Dennehy and Nathan Lane, though producer Scott Rudin revealed that he will not be behind it.

Mamet's real estate men have a good record themselves. The original Broadway production ran for 11 months in 1984 and received four Tony nominations with Joe Mantegna winning best featured performance. Most recently revived in 2005, it fared even better, winning best revival and best featured performance for Liev Schreiber as Roma.