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A Life in the Theatre

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Written by
  
David Mamet

Original language
  
English

First performance
  
1977

Place premiered
  
Lucille Lortel Theatre

3.5/5
Goodreads

Date premiered
  
1977

Genre
  
Comedy

Playwright
  
David Mamet

A Life in the Theatre t3gstaticcomimagesqtbnANd9GcQl56l0ZtESG7loVT

Characters
  
Robert (stage veteran) John (young actor)

Similar
  
David Mamet plays, Comedies

A life in the theatre patrick stewart t r knight


A Life in the Theatre is a 1977 play by David Mamet.

Contents

It focuses on the relationship between two actors, the play's only characters. One, Robert, is a stage veteran while John is a young, promising actor. As the play goes on they are involved in a variety of productions, and gradually their relationship begins to change.

A life in the theatre david mamet


Production history

It was first produced in the US at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, in February 1977, with Mike Nussbaum and Joe Mantegna and directed by Gregory Mosher. It was revived at the Goodman in March 2006, directed by Artistic Director Robert Falls.

The play premiered Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (then the Theatre De Lys) in October 1977 through July 1978, with Ellis Rabb as Robert and Peter Evans as John and directed by Gerald Gutierrez. It was again produced Off-Broadway at the Jewish Repertory Theatre in February 1992 through March 1992, with F. Murray Abraham as Robert and Anthony Fusco as John.

It was the featured play at UCSC's Shakespeare Santa Cruz summer festival in 1986, with Trevor Baxter and Paul Whitworth.

Notable UK productions include a run at London's Apollo Theatre, from February 2 to April 30, 2005 with Patrick Stewart as Robert and Joshua Jackson playing John, and an Edinburgh Fringe production in 2008 by Schadenfreude Productions, with David Cann as Robert and Jonathan Rhodes as John.

Another revival featuring Patrick Stewart and T.R. Knight and directed by Neil Pepe began performances on Broadway in a limited engagement, opened officially on October 12, 2010 for a 15-week run, through January 2, 2011. However, after mixed critical reviews and low box office returns, the show closed on November 28, 2010 after 24 previews and 56 regular performances.

Adaptations

The play was adapted into a television movie in 1993. The teleplay was written by David Mamet. It was directed by Gregory Mosher, and starred Matthew Broderick and Jack Lemmon.

References

A Life in the Theatre Wikipedia