There’s this actor—Spencer Aste—a likeable, funny guy who makes caramels when he’s not rehearsing, performing, or riding his bike around Manhattan. In readings and plays he doesn’t hesitate to take his characters to the edge—even in comedies and kid shows. At the moment, however, Aste is raising his own theatrical stakes as writer/performer in Wake Up, his autobiographical solo show, running through June 24^th at Axis Theatre.

SPENCER ASTE in Wake Up, credit Regina Betancourt.

Part exposition, part confession, Aste’s performance semaphores secrets, sins, lows, and highs (literally), and as theatregoers we find ourselves riding shotgun as he shifts from congenial to redemption. But there’s a lot—A LOT—to take in along the way, from his Utah Mormon upbringing, which came with the tenet “all good people are straight.” Not fitting into that particular niche, and becoming increasingly enamored by acting, he studied (BFA, MFA) and eventually wound up in New York City.

It’s here that most of his story unfolds. He meets the love of his life. He’s given amazing career opportunities. He does drugs. He does serious drugs. He runs amok. He squanders his potential.

He bottoms out. I won’t go into detail because that’s where Aste shines brightest: he doesn’t just chronicle, he pilots you moment to moment with a cold-blooded honesty that hunkers down so deeply into the nitty gritty of his past that you wonder if there is an escape hatch. Spoiler alert: there is.

Which is not to say the show is devoid of humor…and charm. It’s a show that will remain with you, if not as a cautionary tale, then as a compelling, finely etched contemporary theatre work. Few performances remain, do try to catch one.

Axis Theatre, located on Barrow St. between West 4^th and Washington Place at 1 Sheridan Square in Manhattan’s West Village. The running time for Wake Up is 70 minutes with no intermission and all performances begin at 8pm. (wakeuptheplay.com)