James DeVita

James DeVita
Born1960 (age 64–65)
Long Island, New York, United States
Occupations
  • Actor
  • author
  • director
Children2 daughters
Websitejamesdevita.com

James "Jim" DeVita (born 1960) is an American actor, director, and author. Since 1995, he is a member of the core acting company at American Players Theatre, a classical amphitheater located in Spring Green, Wisconsin.

Biography

Devita is from Long Island, New York. He spent years as a first mate on a boat off of Long Island.[1] His one-person show In Acting Shakespeare chronicles his journey from working on fishing boats to becoming an actor and director of classical theater.[2] The play is a personalized adaption of Ian McKellen's Acting Shakespeare, which inspired DeVita to become an actor when he saw it in 1983.[3] DeVita has spent the bulk of his long acting career at American Players Theatre, playing among other Shakespeare roles Hamlet, Romeo, Iago, Macbeth, Leontes, Richard III, Richard II. Other favorites include Jamie Tyrone of Long Days Journey Into Night, Shannon from Night of the Iguana, Gogo in Waiting for Godot and Eddie Carbone in A View from the Bridge. DeVita married actress Brenda Bedard in 1990. They have two children, Gale, born 1996 and Sophia, born 1998.

Reception

In 2015, Wall Street Journal drama critic Terry Teachout wrote that "America has no finer classical actor than Jim DeVita."[4]

Published works

  • Blue (2001)
  • The Rose of Treason: A Fictional Dramatization Based on the True Story of Sophie Scholl and the White Rose (2003)
  • The Silenced (2007)
  • A Winsome Murder (2015)[5]
  • Christmas in Babylon (2018)

References

  1. ^ Reiser, Katie (August 25, 2012). "James DeVita finds his calling in American Players Theatre's "In Living Shakespeare"". Isthmus. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  2. ^ Whitney, Erin (December 31, 2012). "James DeVita Personalizes the Bard in 'In Acting Shakespeare'". BackStage. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  3. ^ Grode, Eric (January 21, 2013). "One Actor Chronicles His Peculiar Career, From School to Boat to Stage". New York Times. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  4. ^ Teachout, Terry (July 30, 2015). "'An Iliad' and 'The Island' Reviews: The Smell of Blood and Bronze". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  5. ^ Fischer, Mike (June 12, 2015). "James DeVita channels Shakespeare in mystery novel 'A Winsome Murder'". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 27 July 2015.


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