Lakeboat is a semi-autobiographical play by David Mamet, written in 1970 and first produced in 1980 (revised version, with the help of John Dillion of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater[1]).
As he would later do with Glengarry Glen Ross, Mamet drew upon experiences from a past vocation to create high drama.
In this case, he turned to his days as a cook aboard a cargo ship to frame this tale of Dale Katzman, a college student from an Ivy League school "near Boston" who takes a summer job as a cook in the galley of the T. Harrison, a lake freighter for a Chicago-based steel concern.
Dale's predecessor, Guigliani, endured a particularly violent end while on terra firma, the cause and nature of which is speculated by the other crew members.
The ensemble cast also included Robert Forster as Joe Litko, Denis Leary as Fireman, and Jack Wallace, a veteran of Mamet productions, as Fred.