Feature: A BEAUTIFUL LIFE: 4 OF 4 at Manes Studio Theatre starring Sean Amato

“The play can be described as a perfect combination between EUPHORIA and A BRONX TALE. Themes in the play include growing up in an Italian family, teen mental health, drug abuse, toxic masculinity, growing up around organized crime, and the struggles of an actor in the industry.” says playwright and star of A BEAUTIFUL LIFE: 4 OF 4 Sean Amato. 

Written and performed by Long Island-based artist Sean Amato, the one-man play will be making its highly-anticipated Long Island debut at the Manes Studio Theatre this month. For Amato, this play is a way to cope with demons and with his own mental health. “During the pandemic, my friend suggested I start writing down my problems,” he says. When it came to writing this play, Amato poured his heart into the first scene and sorted through it. It was originally set to be a show with a full cast, but due to the pandemic, it became a one-man show. “The first script was about an immigrant family from Italy,” says Amato, “I wrote a little each day.” 

The play made its debut at the 1890 House in Cortland, New York, and most recently had a run in 2022 at Summerfest in the New York Theatre Festival. “It was well-attended, in addition to it being live streamed. The audience in the museum was small, but because I live streamed it, I had a much larger audience.” he recalls of it's inaugural run. Of the Long Island premiere, Amato says that he thinks this will be the best run he has had, “I’ve captured everything I want to capture,” he says. 

During the shut-down of the theatre community, and while writing this play, Amato would appear weekly at the Cortland Beer Company alongside his friend and fellow performer. In their weekly slot, the two would perform covers of classic rock and old jazz hits. “I had a duty to put this (play) out. I was starving to create something that was a full art form; not just covers on stage.”

For Amato, this play and the trajectory it has taken runs deep. “Growing up I was taught that men hide their feelings and don’t show emotions,” he explains. Amato went on to explain that this play assists him in showing and proving that you can still maintain who you are while still sharing your secrets and how you feel. In the main character are elements of himself and everyone he has ever known. Amato sees his family and his own experiences within this piece. “As you get older you realize how young you were. It comes down to making mistakes. And the story keeps going on and on.”

A BEAUTIFUL LIFE: 4 OF 4 runs at the Manes Studio Theatre August 11-13.