Alice Ripley and More Set for newTACTics' THE WONDERFUL MR. & MRS. O'LEARY, 6/25-26

THE WONDERFUL MR. & MRS. O'LEARY, written by Matte O'Brien and directed by David Alpert, will be presented as part of TACT's newTACTics series on Wednesday, June 25 and Thursday, June 26 at 7 p.m. The production will feature Aaron Ramey, Alice Ripley, Sebastian Thomas, and Cassidy VanVonno.

In the play, Ellie and Patrick McDowell are a pair of restless siblings who occupy themselves by navigating their mother's insecurities, her latest boyfriend's shifting moods, and the doldrums of their small Louisiana town. All hope of escaping the reality of their situation seems lost until an after-school job materializes - babysitting for The Wonderful Mr. & Mrs. O'Leary. This darkly comic play reveals the power of imagination in the indefinite space between childhood and adulthood.

MATTE O'BRIEN (Playwright) is a writer/director based out of New York City. He began his theatrical career as a performer over twenty years ago. He is a member of The Actors Equity Association and has performed Off Broadway, on National Tours and at regional theatres across the country. As a writer, he has had numerous pieces produced throughout the United States and Europe, including White Noise, a rock musical produced by Whoopi Goldberg and directed by Sergio Trujillo; which had successful commercial runs at Le Petit Theatre in the French Quarter of New Orleans and the Royal George Theater in Chicago. Mr. O'Brien received a Jeff Award nomination for the Chicago production. His musical The Lost Boy: a tale of a drowning in Neverland (formerly Peter & I), written with composer Matt Vinson, was recently produced Off Broadway through the Araca Project at the Amercan Theatre of Actors. His play THE MEANING OF LIFE... and other useless pieces of information played the 45th Street Theatre Off Broadway in New York City. He has also written and directed workshop productions of Morning Has Broken and Becoming David; the latter starring Tony Award nominee, Lorraine Serabian. He is a proud member of the Dramatist Guild. Matte has directed a wide range of plays and musicals in both the USA and UK, featuring Tony and Olivier Award winning talent. He served for three seasons as the Artistic Director for the Colonie Summer Theater and is a founding member and the Producing Artistic Director of Rope Swing Entertainment in New York City. His most recent endeavors have included writing and directing the critically acclaimed play, As Flies to Wanton Boy at The Arches in Glasgow; and staging the world premier of Catherine Grosvenor's,The Tinderbox, which toured London, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Matte holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Syracuse University and a Masters in Directing Classic and Contemporary Text from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

For tickets and more information, click here.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride