Last night I attended a preview performance of the new Broadway production of "A Life in the Theatre" by David Mamet, starring Patrick Stewart and T.R. Knight and directed by Neil Pepe. As this was a preview, I shouldn't say too much about a production that may not yet be finalized, but I can say that it was funny and splendidly entertaining. There is no plot, as such, but rather a string of vignettes involving two male actors, one senior and experience, the other junior but rapidly gaining experience. At times they are talking about their experiences as actors, at times acting out vignettes about incidents that can occur during a production. Perhaps some (or even all?) of the vignettes are inspired by real incidents, or perhaps some spark from the author's imagination, but in any event there is plenty of humor and one comes away with a sense of having been exposed to some of what goes on backstage at the theater.
I am a big fan of Patrick Stewart, and enjoyed his performance last night. I'm less well acquainted with T.R. Knight, not being a broadcast TV watcher, but I found him fun to watch, and I thought his interaction with Stewart was terrific. I don't know when the formal opening is, but last night seemed very polished and well-paced to me.