Thomas G. Waites' LUCKY MAN – A WARRIOR’S JOURNEY to Run at the Gene Frankel Theatre
Performances will run from June 5 to June 22.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Apr. 23, 2025
Veteran actor and musician Thomas G. Waites will step into the spotlight with Lucky Man – A Warrior’s Journey, a deeply personal one-man rock monologue backed by his band Heartbreak Waites, that chronicles Waites rise, fall, and redemption. Directed by Joe Danisi, Lucky Man will play a strictly limited engagement beginning June 5, opening on Wednesday, June 11 at 8 PM and will run through June 22 at the Gene Frankel Theatre.
In Lucky Man, Waites rips the curtain wide open on his wild ride through fame and flameout. The show begins in 1976, just after being kicked out of Juilliard’s Drama Division, and rockets ahead two years later when, at just 23, Waites hits it big with starring with roles in On the Yard, The Warriors, …And Justice for All, and The Thing—working with icons like Al Pacino, John Heard, Kurt Russell and many others, as alcohol destroyes his career, marriage, and family before finding redemption, serenity, and hope - through AA, friendship, music, forgiveness, and the fierce power of love. It will break your heart—then heal it with laughter and song.
“Lucky Man is the kind of story we all need right now—a raw, honest ride through darkness toward redemption. It’s about falling down hard and getting up stronger. Thomas’s journey is personal, powerful, and packed with heart. I’m proud to help bring it to the stage.” — John Goodman
More than just storytelling, Lucky Man is a musical memoir, with Waites backed by his band, Heartbreak Waites, featuring Tony Daniels (Musical Director/Lead Guitar), Cedric Allen Hills (Keyboard, Percussion & Vocals), and Annie McGovern (Vocals). Set design by Elle Kunoss Devoss. Lucky Man is produced by Without A Net Productions.
Beyond these iconic early roles, Waites has built a decades-spanning career in film, television, and theater. His television credits include multiple guest appearances on “Law & Order” (six times!), as well as “The Punisher,” “Homeland,” “OZ,” “NYPD Blue,” “All My Children,” and “One Life to Live”. On stage, he starred opposite Al Pacino in American Buffalo, appeared on Broadway in Search and Destroy with Griffin Dunne, rocked out in the cult musical Teaneck Tanzi with Debbie Harry and shared the stage with Dick Latessa and Frances McDormand in Awake and Sing!. He also founded the TGW Acting Studio, which Backstage named the #1 acting school in NYC. With Lucky Man, he finally tells his own story—loud, raw, and beautifully unfiltered.
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