Review: A LIFE IN THE THEATRE PROVES ALTERNATELY CHEERFUL AND SENTIMENTAL at Live Theatre Workshop

A LIFE IN THE THEATRE is not your customary David Mamet fare, and whether that's a good thing hinges on one's acquired taste - or lack thereof - for the playwright's body of work.

It's a 90-minute two-hander that's chock-full of blithe and old-fashioned humor, unbecoming of the ballsy muse who's made a good run at normalizing profanity in hard-hitting naturalistic dramas. The obvious surprise for Mamet adherents is that by his standards, the play's language is relatively tepid, and its characters sufficiently wholesome. Though it manages to deploy the occasional C-word to describe a scene-stealing actress in a fictional play, the end game is manifestly innocuous given the playwright's capacity for incessant expletives.

Originally produced in 1977, the play catalogs the common acting adventures and technical mishaps that continue to age well: incidents and anecdotes on and off the stage that only seasoned thespians can truly appreciate. Nevertheless, it serves audiences a healthy dollop of good-natured laughs, thanks to the versatile delivery of two actors fit to embrace Mamet's brisk pace and not-too-subtle snides.

David Johnston plays Robert, the older and more experienced actor with a tender heart and the aggravating habit of furnishing unsolicited notes to fellow actors. Johnston is also known in town as a fine and prolific visual artist off the stage, but as an actor he is certainly no slouch. He imbues Robert with a sort of languid anxiety and a jaded sarcasm, presumably bottled up through decades of his unadorned and mediocre career. While Mamet's text lends ample comic opportunities, it takes unusual restraint to mine the character's gold beneath the urge to play for laughs. David Johnston has the honesty and the requisite subtlety for playing a lonely character in a comedic play. Less is more, as they say.

As the younger John, Stephen Frankenfeld provides the urgent foil to Robert's waning career. He is charismatic, ambitious, and shows all the signs of a talent waiting for a big break. Despite his vast potential, John maintains a professional regard for his older counterpart and displays a profound respect for Robert's wealth of experience. Yet we find ourselves on his side when he's neck-deep in agitation from dealing with Robert's eccentric impulses. Frankenfeld is sharp and possesses a broad comedic range, though we get the sense he's as comfortable in a Shakespearean tragedy as he is in a contemporary farce.

A LIFE IN THE THEATRE will be remembered as the first production to have graced Live Theatre Workshop's brand-new facility. Set in the round, the production is helmed by Molly Lyons, who stages the assorted vignettes with calculated economy and a keen regard for arena principles. As set pieces are minimal, the actors wield a hefty chunk of the attention. We applaud Lyons' smooth and proficient navigation of two actors whose respective arc might have slipped into oblivion given the play's erratic structure. But arc we have, lest we forget the two living souls who ply the acting trade, and whose identities can get lost in the sundry personas of the theater.

Mamet's one-act "experiment" is a playful romp showcasing plays within a play. There's a singular and constant reminder that breaks that distinction: a familiar dressing table/vanity at the lonely edge of the stage. It is where actors retire or prepare for their play at hand, where friendly banter and occasional line checks take place. It is where we learn of the people behind the characters they inhabit.

Kathy Hurst as costume designer certainly had her work cut out for her. Much of the play's action involves countless wardrobe changes, which, in effect, adheres to the playwright's premise on the artifice of acting. The exercise works to an extent, especially where actors engage in compelling dialogue while slipping in and out of various apparel.

There lies the rub. When dialogue isn't employed, we're made to watch two people change clothes while we listen to a collection of the greatest hits of the '70s. It's nostalgic music, thanks to Brian McElroy's tasteful selections, but the effort to accompany the action falls flat because we see no theatrical value in a stage business that repeats after the point has been made. On the other hand, an actor exiting through a house door as one character and coming back through the stage entrance, dressed as another character, is dramatic gold. More of this might break the monotonous repetition of wardrobe changes. You've heard it before: It was fun while it lasted.

A LIFE IN THE THEATRE is a safe bet for opening a summer season in a new theater space. It's cheerful and spirited and uniquely sentimental for a Mamet piece. That said, the play might as well classify as a work in progress, what with all the formative holes yet unfilled. The script leaves much to be desired, but the production soars with the help of a skilled dynamic duo of Johnston and Frankenfeld. And that, dear friends, is inarguably a good thing.

Photo Credit: Ryan Fagan

A LIFE N THE THEATRE runs through July 10

For Tickets, contact Live Theatre Workshop

www.livetheatreworkshop.org ~ 3322 E. Fort Lowell Rd. Tucson, AZ 95716 ~ 520-327-4242

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