James "Jim" DeVita is an American actor, director and author. Since 1995, he is a member of the core acting company at

American Players Theatre American Players Theatre is a classical American theatrical troupe and theater complex located near Spring Green, Wisconsin. It has been called the best classical theater company in the United States by the late ''Wall Street Journal'' drama cri ...

, a classical amphitheater located in

Spring Green, Wisconsin Spring Green is a village in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,628 at the 2010 census. The village is located within the Town of Spring Green. Geography Spring Green is located at (43.177268, -90.067277). According ...

Biography

Devita is from Long Island, New York. He spent years as a first mate on a boat off of Long Island. His

one-person show A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show or one-woman show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieties, including auto ...

''In Acting Shakespeare'' chronicles his journey from working on fishing boats to becoming an actor and director of classical theater. 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. 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 ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' drama critic

Terry Teachout Terrance Alan Teachout (February 6, 1956 – January 13, 2022) was an American author, critic, biographer, playwright, stage director, and librettist. He was the drama critic of ''The Wall Street Journal'', the critic-at-large of '' Commentary ...

wrote that "America has no finer classical actor than Jim DeVita."

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) *''Christmas in Babylon'' (2018)

References

External links

* Living people American male stage actors Male actors from New York (state) People from Spring Green, Wisconsin 1960 births {{US-theat-actor-1960s-stub