The family that plays together

Lewis Wheeler has a distinct advantage over the other actors in "No Man's Land." He's known the director all his life.

"I've been watching my dad in rehearsals since I was a little kid," says Wheeler, whose father, the award-winning David Wheeler, is directing Harold Pinter's bleak comedy for the American Repertory Theatre starting Saturday.

"I know what he wants from me, and we've got a definite shorthand," he says.

His father looks over at him fondly. "I think we know how to collaborate," he says. The two men are sitting in the ART offices, and it's touching to see the obvious pride they take in each other.

But even if you hadn't grown up in the same house with him, the senior Wheeler is a director known for giving actors both the space and the framework to create rich characters. In a career that began in the 1950s, under the guidance of legendary director José Quintero , Wheeler went on to start the Theatre Company of Boston and work with such household names as Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, and Jon Voight, early in their careers.

"I'm still learning, though," says David. "I like to hear other people's ideas and suggestions."

"You love unsolicited opinions," Lewis says with a laugh. "He likes to go into the men's room at intermission and ask men at the urinals what they think about the production."

"I think the opinions there are the most honest," David says with a smirk.

"But I think that makes him different from other directors," says Lewis. "He's open to the maximum number of possibilities an actor can bring. We try a lot of different things in rehearsal and I never feel like I'm stepping on his vision."

Pinter's "No Man's Land" requires a great deal of imagination. One of Pinter's most oblique plays, it debuted in 1975 with renowned actors Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud as the aging writers Hirst and Spooner . In the play, Hirst returns home from a pub with Spooner and the two continue drinking and reminiscing about the past even though it's not clear how well they know each other. Two younger men named Foster and Briggs appear and say they work for Hirst, but the haze of alcohol and disjointed memories clouds the truth of who is really in charge. Spooner desperately tries to ingratiate himself with Hirst, but it's too late for both of these men, who must face the loss of creativity and, ultimately, of life itself.

The play is different from most Pinter plays because it's not sequential, says David Wheeler. "It takes a lot of guts to play these men," he says. "When Hirst goes into his fog, his speeches are rambling and imagistic. You need two master mature actors who are game to submerge themselves in this. "

The director turned to "his lions," as he calls them -- Paul Benedict ("Waiting for Guffman" and TV's "The Jeffersons") plays Hirst, and Max Wright (TV's "Alf") is Spooner. Both have worked with Wheeler before and have Broadway and ART credits.

Although the play's themes confront the inevitability of old age, as well as shifting power plays, the banter between the two old writers varies from scathing to silly, from pathetic to poetic.

"My job as the director," says Wheeler, " is to track the writer's mind. We make important discoveries every day in rehearsal about what's bringing these men together and pulling them apart."

But the trick with Pinter, says his son, who plays Briggs, is that characters rarely say what they mean. "When Foster and Briggs enter the scene, it's not clear exactly what they're trying to do. Why are we manipulating Hirst? What's unspoken is a giant iceberg, so for an actor there are tons of options."

His father turns to him, looking concerned. "I worry a little that I'm not giving you enough time in rehearsal," he says.

"Dad, if you need to talk to me, you call me to come out to the house and take the garbage to the dump," says Lewis.

Working together in the theater is new for them. The only other time David directed Lewis was in a production of "The Perfect Ganesh" at the Vineyard Playhouse nine years ago, even though Lewis says he's always checking in with his parents (his mother is noted teacher Bronia Wheeler) for professional advice. "I always perform my audition pieces for them first," he says. "They always have good suggestions."

Lewis has the smallest role in the play, but one that requires an out-of-character attitude for this gentle young man who looks more like a romantic lead than a thug.

"Pinter describes Briggs as 'a tough bugger,' " says Lewis, "so I shaved my head and put on 12 pounds of sheer muscle. I can't believe the reactions I get. Even on the subway a mom moved her kid away from me."

David says he doesn't worry about Lewis being able to pull off the role of the enforcer.

"When he successfully played against type in 'A Number' [at Lyric Stage], I said to him, ' You're an actor now.' "

From a director who is also his dad, Lewis says, "That was the ultimate compliment."