Two actors playing two characters make a perfect pair in the St. Louis Actor’s Studio’s 13th season, “Two to Tango,” with all shows featuring only a duo.
That perfect pair might consist of a husband and wife, mother and son, or in the case of “A Life in the Theatre,” two professional actors sharing the stage with different degrees of experience.
Written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, David Mamet, “A Life in the Theatre” enters the lives of two actors – Robert (played by William Roth), a veteran of the stage, and John (played by Ryan Lawson-Maeske), who is a young upcoming performer. Their short, spare and increasingly raw exchanges reveal the estrangement of youth from age, and the wider, endless cycle of life – in and out of the theater.
Directed by John Contini, the play is presented by St. Louis Actors’ Studio, and will be on stage at the Gaslight Theater through Dec. 22.
“A Life in the Theatre” premiered in 1977 at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, where it was revived in 2006. Another revival opened on Broadway in a limited engagement in October 2010, and for a three-week run in January 2019 at The Arctic Playhouse. It was adapted for film in 1979, and again in 1993, the latter starring Matthew Broderick and Jack Lemmon.
Mamet’s play, “Glengarry Glen Ross” won the 1984 Pulitzer Prize in Drama. One of his most recent plays is “Bitter Wheat,” which played this summer at London’s Garrick Theatre, starring John Malkovich.
“A Life in the Theatre” is the second in the St. Louis Actor’s Studio’s 13th season, which continues with “Annapurna” by Sharr White, directed by Annamaria Pileggi, Feb. 14 to March 1; and “Comfort (world premiere)” by Neil LaBute, directed by Annamaria Pileggi, April 17 to May 3.
The St. Louis Actors’ Studio was founded to bring a fresh vision to theater in St. Louis. Housed in The Gaslight Theater, STLAS is committed to bringing engaging theatrical experiences to the community of actors, writers, producers, filmmakers and all patrons of the arts, and to provide a strong ensemble environment to foster learning and artistic expression.
“A Life in the Theatre” will be on stage at 8 p.m., Thursdays through Saturdays; at 3 p.m. on Sundays, through Dec. 22, with a 7:30 p.m. performance on Tuesday, Dec. 10, and Monday, Dec. 16, at the Gaslight Theater, 360 N. Boyle Ave. in St. Louis. Ticket prices are $35 for adults; $30 for students with valid ID, seniors and military. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit stlas.org.
