A Life in the Theatre
cast list
T.R. Knight, Patrick Stewart
directed by
Neil Pepe
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In accordance with the recent trend of opening at least one David Mamet play per season, new or otherwise, A Life in the Theatre follows on the coattails of several successful (Speed-the-Plow) and not-so-successful (American Buffalo) revivals, unfortunately taking its rightful place in the latter category despite a fine turn from T.R. Knight.
As directed by Neil Pepe, who worked wonders with Mamet's lightning-fast dialogue in Speed-the-Plow, A Life in the Theatre never rises above the mediocrity of its writing. A relatively minor entry in Mamet's canon, the play consists of a series of sketches that follow the lives of one older actor (Robert, played by Patrick Stewart) and one younger actor (John, played by T.R. Knight) as their professional lives intersect in several theatrical productions, presumably as part of a repertory company.
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This set-up allows for send-ups of various genres, including the French Revolution-set melodrama, hospital dramas, war dramas, and English farce. Mamet, however great he may be at crafting incisive dialogue, is less successful when coordinating situational comedy, and the sight gags he includes, ineffectually directed by Pepe, mostly fall flat and ring false.
Much of the trouble with the play lies in its messy structure. Many of the scenes end before they've even begun, presenting a snapshot of life but nothing of substance. Mamet seems here to prefer neat buttons to substantive character development, much to the detriment of the piece as it rather hollowly aspires to portray the depths of a career in the theatre. Despite the play's ninety-minute length, we learn practically nothing about the characters we're watching. How did they meet? And why do they continue to be cast opposite one another?
The characters' personal lives are addressed only in brief glimpses (T.R. Knight on the phone with a "friend," mentions of plans for dinner or drinks), and, despite the play's focus on the actor's life, this elusiveness detracts from the play insomuch that we as an audience are never properly endeared to our dual protagonists as human beings before we're asked to be concerned with their on-stage and backstage lives.
T.R. Knight and Patrick Stewart turn in amiable performances as two repertory actors who alternately butt heads and befriend one another. Stewart is somewhat miscast as a hammy older comedic actor, his magnificent baritone speaking voice ill-suited to providing comic relief, though Knight lends an open-faced vibrancy and believability to the role of John, who's understandably exhausted by his costar as he finds himself garnering attention as a capable member of his profession.
Despite occasional glimmers of promise, A Life in the Theatre mostly disappoints. Even without an intermission, there is a sluggish feeling to this production, which is hindered by overly long transitions and ineffectual incidental music by Obadiah Eaves that further deadens the pace. Knight charms, and Stewart is always watchable, but Mamet's sloppy, sentimental play can't quite merit a visit to A Life in the Theatre which, as it creeps toward its conclusion, feels as if it ought more aptly to be renamed A Lifetime in This Theatre.
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New York reviews
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Three Sisters, Classic Stage Company
The Piano Lesson, Yale Repertory Theatre
The Momentum, Laurie Beechman Theatre
The Walk Across America for Mother Earth, La MaMa E.T.C.
John Gabriel Borkman, BAM Harvey Theater
Blood From a Stone, Acorn Theatre
Malfi, Inc., Theatre 54
Pieces, 59E59 Theaters
A Delicate Balance, Yale Repertory Theatre
The Memorandum, Beckett Theatre
The Scottsboro Boys, Lyceum Theatre
Driving Miss Daisy, Golden Theatre
Futura, TBG Theatre
La Bete, The Music Box Theatre
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
A Life in the Theatre, Schoenfeld Theatre
In Transit, 59E59 Theaters
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