Shia LaBeouf To Make Stage Debut In David Mamet World Premiere HENRY JOHNSON

Actor Shia LaBeouf will make his stage debut in the world premiere of Henry Johnson, a new work from playwright David Mamet, directed by Marja-Lewis Ryan, showrunner of the Showtime series The L Word: Generation Q.

The play, which will play a limited four-week run at The Electric Lodge in Venice, California beginning September 1, follows "the plight of a man after an act of compassion upends his life,”. 

In addition to La Beouf, the cast also features Academy Award nominee David Paymer, Dominic Hoffman, and Evan Jonigkeit in the titular role.

“I am incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to work with David Mamet. His talent and creativity are unparalleled, and it is truly an honor to collaborate with arguably our greatest living playwright. “Henry Johnson” is a unique and compelling story. It has not only inspired me but has also pushed me to grow as a performer. Marja’s guidance and mentorship have been invaluable, and I am grateful for the knowledge and wisdom Evan has shared with me. Working with these artists has deepened my appreciation for the power of storytelling. I am immensely thankful for the chance to learn from and build with them,” LaBeouf said in a statement.

Mamet and director Ryan have collaborated before. “I treasure every part of it. It’s like a homecoming,” says Ryan of her return to theater after her TV show’s multi-season run on Showtime.

The famed playwright said of his director, "Constantin Stanislavski wrote that any director who does something interesting with the text does not understand the text. Most stage directors are only English teachers with a stage manager to bring them tea while they confuse the actors. God forgive them, and may God bless Ms. Ryan.”

David Mamet has won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for Glengarry Glen Ross (1984) and Speed-the-Plow (1988). As a screenwriter, he has received Oscar nominations for The Verdict (1982) and Wag the Dog (1997). Mamet's books include: The Old Religion (1997), a novel about the lynching of Leo Frank; Five Cities of Refuge: Weekly Reflections on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy(2004), a Torah commentary with Rabbi Lawrence Kushner; The Wicked Son (2006), a study of Jewish self-hatred and antisemitism; Bambi vs. Godzilla, a commentary on the movie business; The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture (2011), a commentary on cultural and political issues; and Three War Stories (2013), a trio of novellas about the physical and psychological effects of war.

For more information and ticket sales, please visit: https://henry-johnson.eventbrite.com/

BIOS

MARJA-LEWIS RYAN (DIRECTOR)

Marja-Lewis Ryan (Director/Producer) served as Showrunner, Executive Producer, and Director of the Emmy Nominated (Outstanding Music and Lyrics) SHOWTIME drama series, The L Word®: Generation Q. The series received consecutive GLAAD Media Award nominations for "Outstanding Drama Series" among other honors. She wrote and directed the Netflix feature 6 Balloons and wrote, directed and produced the world premieres of her plays Dysnomia, One in the Chamber, A Good Family, and Bugaboo and the Silent One. Ryan directed the LA premier and subsequent Off-Broadway production of David Mamet's The Anarchist. Her work has made her a fixture in the LA theater scene and has earned her an LA Drama Critics Circle Award, multiple Ovation Award Nominations and special recognition from the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival.   

SHIA LABEOUF (GENE)

Shia recently wrapped production on Francis Ford Coppola’s highly anticipated science-fiction drama, Megalopolis, opposite Adam Driver and Dustin Hoffman. LaBeouf can currently be seen as the titular role in Abel Ferrarra’s Padre Pio.  Recent film credits include Kornel Mundruczo’s Pieces of a Woman, opposite Vanessa Kirby and Ellen Burstyn, David Ayer’s The Tax Collector and Honey Boy, which marked Shia’s first feature length film as a screenwriter and received a Special Jury Award for Vision and Craft at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2019, Shia starred in The Peanut Butter Falcon alongside Zachary Gottsagen which won the Audience Award at the SXSW Film Festival. Other film credits include the drama, Borg vs. McEnroe (critics heralded LaBeouf’s performance as “perfection,” “flawless” and “explosive”); the critically acclaimed independent film American Honey (his performance earned him a British Independent Film Award nomination for “Best Actor,” a London Critics’ Circle Film Award nomination for “Supporting Actor of the Year,” and an Independent Spirit Award nomination for “Best Supporting Male”); the post-apocalyptic thriller, Man Down alongside Gary Oldman; ; the war drama Fury, directed by David Ayer with Brad Pitt; Lars von Trier’s drama, Nymphomaniac: Vol. 1; Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac: Vol. 2; and the suspense drama Charlie Countryman, opposite Evan Rachel Wood, Mads Mikkelsen and Melissa Leo. Prior to that, LaBeouf starred in the Transformers trilogy, Robert Redford’s The Company You Keep, Lawless alongside Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman and Guy Pearce, Oliver Stone’s Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps opposite Michael Douglas, the fourth installment of Steven Spielberg’s “Indiana Jones” series, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, alongside Harrison Ford, D.J. Caruso’s Eagle Eye, the Anthony Minghella-scripted segment of New York, I Love You, a romantic anthology, the popular thriller Disturbia, the Oscar® nominated animated film Surf’s Up, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, which won “Best Ensemble Cast” at the Sundance Film Festival, Emilio Estevez’s acclaimed drama Bobby, The Greatest Game Ever Played, I, Robot, Constantine, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, HBO’s “Project Greenlight” featuring The Battle of Shaker Heights produced by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and in 2003 he made his feature film debut in the comedy Holes, based on the best-selling book by Louis Sacher.  On television, LaBeouf garnered much praise from critics everywhere for his portrayal of “Louis Stevens” on the Disney Channel’s original series “Even Stevens.” In 2003, he earned a Daytime Emmy award for “Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Series” for his work on the highly-rated family show.  In addition to his work in front of the camera, Shia has also directed several projects including music videos for Kid Cudi and Future Unlimited. LaBeouf currently resides in California.

EVAN JONIGKEIT (HENRY)

Evan’s recent film and tv credits include Archive 81, The Night House, Welcome to Chippendales, Sweetbitter, Someone I Used To Know & the upcoming film, Manodrome. He appeared on Broadway in High (outer critics circle nomination, Kevin Kline Award win) and The Snow Geese. In addition he has performed in dozens of off-broadway / regional productions in his career. This is Evan’s first performance in L.A. theatre since Jen Silverman’s, Witch (Geffen Theatre) for which he won the LA Critics Circle Award for best actor. Evan is also an Emmy Nominated producer.

DAVID PAYMER (MR. BARNES)

David Paymer is an Academy Award and Golden Globe nominated actor known for his roles in films such as Quiz Show, City Slickers, Ocean’s Thirteen, Payback, Get Shorty, The American President, and David Mamet’s State and Main. Paymer has hundreds of episodic TV acting appearances to his credit and has directed over seventy episodes for television. He currently can be seen in recurring roles on both The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and FX/Hulu’s Dave. Paymer reprised his Oscar-nominated film role in the Broadway production of Mr. Saturday Night with Billy Crystal in 2022.

DOMINIC HOFFMAN (JERRY)

Regional credits include: Michael in Lee Blessing’s play, Two Rooms, the role of the Magus in San Francisco Magic Theatre’s world premiere of Faustus, written and directed by David Mamet. Taming of the Shrew and Tamer Tamed at the Santa Cruz Shakespeare. Master Harold and the Boys at New Mexico Rep. He had the title role in the world premiere of Noah Johnson Had a Whore at South Coast Repertory, Flyin’ West at San Diego Rep, That Serious He-Man Ball at Los Angeles Theatre Center, Gabe Gabriel in No Place to Be Somebody at San Francisco’s Victoria Theatre, Blade to the Heat at the Mark Taper Forum, and Circle X’s production of Brecht’s Edward II. Henry Brown in David Mamet's, Race at The Kirk Douglas Theatre. Dominic Hoffman is a Double Ovation Award winner (Best Actor/ Writer of a new play) for his solo show, Uncle Jacques’ Symphony. He was the recipient of an NAACP Best Actor Award for his other solo play, Last Fare.

 Mr. Hoffman collected an Audie Award for Best Literary Fiction for his reading of Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. He was nominated for the same award for James Mc Bride’s novel, Deacon King Kong. As a writer…several of his plays have been performed or optioned, including Emmitt and Ava, for which he has written the screenplay. He is currently awaiting the publishing of his book of short stories: Late Rehearsals. Dominic lives in Venice and continues to work in television, film and theatre as an actor/writer/director/ audiobook narrator.