"In Acting Shakespeare"-- Tales From A Life

James Da Vita in a photo by Jacob J. Goldberg from "In Acting Shakespeare."

For those of us smitten with it, the theater is an uplifting and enriching experience.

James Da Vita's " In Acting Shakespeare," at The Pearl Theatre through February 3rd, stands on the shoulders of Sir Ian McKellan, on whose one man show his own is based, and Shakespeare, whose body of work inspired Da Vita to "a life in the theater."*

"And that , I think," Da Vita says, "was Shakespeare's true gift. He wrote us. He includes all of us in the question of what it is to be human." 
 
Da Vita, an undeniably smart man, wisely opens with Shakespeare's great villain Richard III. Contorting his boy into the deformed figure of the would-be King, Da Vita recites his honeyed and poisonous lines with a clarity and deep understanding. James Da Vita knows his Shakespeare!

James Da Vita in "In Acting Sharkespeare" in a photo by Jacob J. Goldberg.

In fact, the excerpts he plays out from the Bard's work, are the most entertaining sections of his memoire in tribute to his profession.Da Vita is a savvy theatrical technician.

Photo by Jacob J. Goldberg

 

Once a fisherman, the handsome and charismatic Da Vita went from gutting fish to hoisting petards. and writing plays and novels. He is now also the literary manager, and a core member, of American Players Theater in Wisconsin.

Shakespeare's legacy is of course undeniable and it apparently includes James Da Vita. His stage is  peopled with characters from Hotspur to Polonius, John Shakespeare and young Will himself. "In Acting Shakespeare" is about Da Vita's journey from unschooled Long Island boy to actor.

*"In Acting Shakespeare" borrows nothing from David Mamet.

To find out more about The Pearl Theatre Company, and "In Acting Shakespeare," please visit http://www.pearltheatre.org/. Next up at The Pearl, "Henry IV, Part I."