The Broadway premiere of the two-character play about an older actor and his protégé will be directed by Neil Pepe, who directed the acclaimed revival of Mamet's Speed-The-Plow on Broadway.
Rehearsals begin on Aug. 23. Previews will now begin at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (236 W. 45th St.) on Sept. 23. An opening date has not been announced.
Best known for his SAG Award-winning and Emmy-nominated role as Dr. George O'Malley on the hit ABC drama "Grey's Anatomy," which he departed, Knight (who will play John in A Life in the Theatre) also appeared on television in the CBS sitcom "Charlie Lawrence," opposite Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf. A veteran of the stage, Knight has previously appeared on Broadway in the acclaimed 2001 revival of Noises Off!, and the 2003 Roundabout Theatre Company revival of Tartuffe. Off-Broadway, he received a Drama Desk nomination for his performance in the 2003 MCC production of Scattergood, starred in the 2004 production of Julia Jordan's Boy and This Lime Tree Bower, both at Primary Stages, the 1999 TFNA production of Macbeth at the American Place Theatre, and the Blue Lights Theatre Company production of The Hologram Theory, among many others. A native of Minneapolis, MN, he has appeared in numerous productions at the Guthrie Theater, including Amadeus and Ah, Wilderness! He also starred in the Los Angeles revival of the musical Parade, directed by Rob Ashford.
Stewart (who will play Robert) is well-known for his work on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and in Broadway's The Ride Down Mt. Morgan, Macbeth and A Christmas Carol. He was Tony Award-nominated for Macbeth.
Stewart played Robert in a well-reviewed 2005 production A Life in the Theatre at London's Apollo Theatre. Since leaving Broadway in May 2008, Stewart starred in a dual role as Claudius and The Ghost in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Hamlet, winning an Olivier Award for his performance; as well as opposite Sir Ian McKellen in a sold-out 2009 West End production of Samuel Beckett's tragicomedy Waiting for Godot.
A Life in the Theatre will be produced on Broadway by Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel and Steve Traxler, the lead producers of the current Race and recent production of Speed-The-Plow. A Life in the Theatre made its world premiere at The Goodman Theatre in Chicago in February 1977 with Mike Nussbaum and Joe Mantegna, directed by Gregory Mosher. The play opened Off-Broadway on Oct. 20, 1977, at the Lucille Lortel Theatre and ran for 288 performances. That production was directed by Gerald Gutierrez and starred Peter Evans and Ellis Rabb.
Here's how the new producers bill the play: "Describing life in the footlights from an actor's point of view, A Life in the Theatre focuses on the relationship between two thespians: Robert, an older, experienced performer; and John, a relative newcomer. Though Robert's guidance is welcomed by John at first, as the play progresses Robert falters as an actor and mentor, and John emerges as a mature actor."
The design team includes set designer Santo Loquasto, lighting designer Kenneth Posner and costume designer Laura Bauer.
Mamet, the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Glengarry Glen Ross, has also written Sexual Perversity in Chicago, Lakeboat, The Water Engine, The Duck Variations, Reunion, The Blue Hour, The Shawl, Bobby Gould in Hell, Edmond, Romance, November, The Old Neighborhood and the recent adaptation of The Voysey Inheritance, among other plays.
He is a member of Atlantic Theater Company, which he founded in 1985 with William H. Macy.
