Kinetic Theatre produces Pittsburgh premiere of David Mamet’s ‘Henry Johnson’

Andrew Paul is getting used to producing Jewish playwright David Mamet’s plays.

Paul, producing artistic director of the Kinetic Theatre Company, previously staged four of Mamet’s plays and is now preparing to open a production of “Henry Johnson.”

Produced for only the third time, following its 2023 world premiere in Los Angeles and a 2025 run in Chicago, the play features the return of Pittsburgh actor David Butler and is directed by Paul.

Get The Jewish Chronicle Weekly Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up

Paul said Kinetic Theatre’s previous Mamet productions probably helped get the rights to this show.

“He [Mamet] is aware that I’ve done a lot of his work, which I think he appreciates because after his political conversion to becoming a conservative, he got canceled by the American theater in a big way, and I think he’s loyal to the people that are still doing his work,” Paul said.

“Henry Johnson,” Paul said, is Mamet back on form, writing the kind of work the theater public expects from him.

“It feels like one of his better plays,” he said. “It’s right in his wheelhouse. It’s a hard-hitting play, but it’s got a lot of level and textures, and it has the iconic Mamet rhythms and everything.”

“Henry Johnson” gathered attention because Shia LaBeouf starred in the Los Angeles production, taking on one of the show’s four roles.

The attention may have been exactly what the storied playwright, director and screenwriter didn’t want.

“I read that Mamet didn’t want any critics to come to the play,” Paul offered. “A few people came out and wrote about it because of Shia LaBeouf, who was proud of the play and wanted people to hear about it.”

The results were sold-out audiences.

The show was also performed as part of Chicago’s Victory Gardens Theater’s 50th anniversary celebration.

Because of that run, actor Matt DeCaro, a friend of Paul’s, sent him a copy of the script saying, “We’ve got to do this new Mamet play.”

Actor Linda Kimbrough, a mutual friend of DeCaro and Paul, helped secure the rights, and DeCaro was poised to star in the Pittsburgh run.

Before production could begin, though, DeCaro had a heart attack and died.

Kimbrough and Paul believed their friend would have liked to see the play produced.

“We’re dedicating it to him,” Paul said. “It is kind of a cruel twist of fate because I can really hear DeCaro’s voice. He knows Mamet. He’s done Mamet. I’m sorry to have lost him.”

Instead, David Butler steps into the role. The actor, now in his 70s, moved back to Pittsburgh from New York.

“This guy was in everything — City Theatre, Public Theater, the Playhouse,” Paul said.

Also starring in the four-person work is David Whalen. The actor has a long history of working with Paul.

“The first play I did with him in Pittsburgh was in 2006,” Paul said. “This is our 40th play together. We’ve done 40 plays in 20 years.”

Rounding out the cast are Cotter Smith and, in the title role, John Steffenauer.

Though the character Henry Johnson appears in all four scenes of the play, he has the fewest lines.

“It’s a very interesting structure for a play,” Paul said.

The plot concerns corporate malfeasance involving $300,000, with Johnson ending up in prison.

Paul said Johnson is a “fish out of water,” who doesn’t look or act like a criminal but ends up in jail with a tattooed roommate sharing his cell.

“Now he’s in the system and things get worse and worse. He’s a likeable sort of lump who makes bad decisions,” Paul said.

The rehearsal process, he noted, has been interesting, as Butler and Whalen work to find the voice of the characters as they rehearse; Smith and Steffenauer, he said, come in ready to work off-book immediately.

“Henry Johnson” runs July 9-26 at the Carnegie Stage. Following its production, Kinetic Theatre is producing Agatha Christie’s “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd,” Aug. 6-30, also at the Carnegie Stage.

“It’s one of her most well-known works,” Paul said. “It’s a great piece because everyone is a suspect. There are great characters. It was a no-brainer.”

For Paul, both “Henry Johnson” and “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” are great productions that he hopes will draw large audiences. But for now, he said, there’s intrigue and anticipation of a new Mamet work.

“People say, ‘You’ve got a new Mamet, how the hell did you do that?’ There’s a buzz about it. It’s exciting.”

Tickets for both productions can be purchased at kinetic.showclix.com. PJC

David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org