Mamet's play focuses on the relationship between a young actor and his older mentor. It debuted at Chicago's Goodman Theatre in February of 1977 starring Mike Nussbaum and Joe Mantegna and directed by Gregory Mosher. The play first opened Off-Broadway in October of that year at the Lucille Lortel Theatre and ran for 288 performances. That production was directed by Gerald Gutierrez and starred Peter Evans and Ellis Rabb.

Pepe directed the recent Broadway revival of Mamet's Speed-the-Plow. He is artistic director of the Atlantic Theater Company, which was co-founded by Mamet and actor William H. Macy. Currently, he is directing a revival of Frank D. Gilroy's The Subject Was Roses, starring Martin Sheen and Frances Conroy, at the Geffen Playhouse.