Photo Flash: Orlagh Cassidy Stars as Nancy Pelosi in THE ADULT IN THE ROOM

The Adult in the Room," a new play by Bill McMahon about the life of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, will receive its world premiere Jan. 26 at 2 p.m. at Chicago's Victory Gardens Theater's Richard Christiansen Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, starring acclaimed Broadway, television and film actress Orlagh Cassidy.

Directed by Heather Arnson and Conor Bagley, the play is produced by Tony/Emmy/Olivier Award-winning producer Jim Kierstead ("Kinky Boots," "Pippin," "Hadestown") Emmy Award-winning producer Linda Karn ("Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine") and Broadway producer William Fernandez ("The Inheritance," "The Great Comet"). Previews begin Jan. 22.

How did Nancy Pelosi become the first female Speaker of the House - and perhaps more importantly, how has she managed to stay there? First elected to Congress in 1987, Speaker Pelosi is a woman about whom everyone has an opinion, and yet who almost no one truly knows. In the play, she recounts her personal story and political journey while trying to balance the forces of extreme left and extreme right, using all of her power and talents to preserve that rarest of rare birds in D.C. of this moment - consensus. That is, until her brand of consensus fades into the rear-view mirror. This up-to-the-minute, galvanizing play is not just about Madame Speaker herself, but about the convulsive political climate that currently permeates the United States. Told with wit, irony, emotion and leavening doses of humor, "The Adult in the Room" is no mere history lesson, but a reflection on where we are, and how we got here.

Portraying the bold and determined Speaker Pelosi will be Orlagh Cassidy. Her Broadway and Off Broadway credits include "Present Laughter" with Frank Langella, "God Of Carnage," "Our Country's Good," "Acolyte," "The Hundred We Are," "Hamlet," "Ruins Of Civilization," "When We Were Young And Unafraid" (understudying Cherry Jones), "Bright Ideas," and "The Field." She portrayed Doris Wolfe on "Guiding Light," and has made appearances on "Law and Order," "A Gifted Man," "Unforgettable," "Veep," "Gotham," "The Good Wife," "Billions," "Homeland," "Madam Secretary," "The Sinner," "Instinct," "The Loudest Voice" and "Bull." Her film work includes "St. Vincent," "Sisterhood of Night," "Beachhouse," "Catching Up," "LOVE40" and the upcoming films "Shirley" with Elisabeth Moss and Michael Stuhlbarg and "After Yang" with Colin Farrell. She is the award-winning voice of numerous audiobooks, television and radio commercials.

Tickets to "The Adult in the Room" are on sale now. Tickets are priced at $49 and are available through victorygardens.org or by calling the box office at 773.871.3000. For more information visit theadultintheroomplay.com.

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