Westport Country Playhouse will present a Script in Hand playreading of a darkly funny and deeply moving new play, “The One Good Thing or ‘Are Ya Patrick Swayze’?,” written by Joe Bravaco and directed by Ciarán O’Reilly, on Monday, September 8, at 7 p.m.
“I’m thrilled to share this funny and haunting new play with our Script in Hand audience,” said Mark Shanahan, Playhouse artistic director and Script in Hand curator. “‘The One Good Thing or ‘Are Ya Patrick Swayze’?’ is a beautifully crafted, intimate, two-character play full of Irish wit, emotional depth, and the kind of quiet revelations that stay with you long after the curtain falls. Joe Bravaco’s deft writing fuels audience speculation about what is real and what is imagined, and ultimately, touches the heart.
“And I’m thrilled to have Ciaran O’Reilly of New York’s celebrated Irish Repertory Theatre return to the Playhouse as director, working with this brilliant cast. It’s always a pleasure to present a new work in our Script in Hand series, and this play – insightful, smart, and full of heart—is a perfect way to kick off our fall readings.”
“The One Good Thing or ‘Are Ya Patrick Swayze’?” explores brotherhood, grief, and the invisible forces that haunt us. With humor, pathos, and a touch of the supernatural, the play asks what we carry, what we bury, and what, if anything, we’re brave enough to leave behind.
In a small cottage perched above the Irish Sea, brothers Jamie and Tommy live side by side, bound by routine, memory, and a lifetime of unspoken truths. But one morning, after a relentless night of wind and rain, Jamie makes a startling revelation – one that shakes the foundation of their relationship and casts their shared past in a strange new light.
The cast includes David McElwee as Tommy (NY Theater: “Philadelphia, Here I Come” at Irish Repertory Theatre, 1st Irish Festival Award for Best Actor, “A Man for All Seasons,” “The Wayside Motor Inn” – Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble, “All My Sons” with Alec Baldwin and Laurie Metcalf; Regional: “Our Town,” “Macbeth,” “Memoirs of a Forgotten Man,” Venus in Fur,” “Red”; TV: “Boardwalk Empire,” “Law & Order: SVU”; teaching artist with Manhattan Theatre Club; BFA Florida State University); Kieran Mulcare as Jamie (NY Theater: “Retreat,” “I Wanna Destroy You,” “Salty,” “Revolution,” “The Rakes,” “Everyone,” “Big Al”; Regional: “The Mousetrap,” “Red Light Winter,” “Hamlet,” “The Medea Stories,” “Henry V”; Film: M. Night Shyamalan’s upcoming “Remain,” co-director of “Cicada”; TV: “Waco: The Aftermath,” “The Loudest Voice,” “Jessica Jones,” “Gotham,” “The Following,” “The Blacklist,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Broad City”; Training: UNCSA, Caymichael Patten Studio); and Faith Sandberg reading stage directions (Westport Country Playhouse: Script in Hand playreading “The Shark Is Broken,” “How the World Began,” “A Danger to Yourself and Others”; Stage: “Fun Home,” “Peter & The Starcatcher,” “Mamma Mia”; originated roles of Terri in new musical “The Good Girl,” Sophie in an adaptation of “Tom Jones,” Kitty in season one of HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire”).
Playwright is Joe Bravaco (former teacher of language arts, drama and journalism; co-librettist of the musical “Sundown,” produced at Barter Theatre, VA, Adobe Theater, NM, and Lyric Stage, TX, where it was nominated for Best New Play or Musical by the Dallas Drama League; “The Almost and Truly Remarkable Adventures of Israel Potter,” based on a comic novel by Herman Melville and written in collaboration with Larry Rosler, has been seen at Oldcastle Theatre, VT, Winnipesaukee Playhouse, NH, and Bluff City Theater, MO, and was a New Play Showcase Finalist at Throughline Theatre, PA).
Director is Ciaran O’Reilly (Westport Country Playhouse: “The Streets of New York,” “Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me,” reading of “Arsenic and Old Lace,” Script in Hand playreading of “And Then There Were None”; co-founder and producing director of Irish Repertory Theatre; directing credits include: “Beckett Briefs” – Lortel Nom., “Philadelphia, Here I Come!” – Lortel Nom., Drama Desk Nom., OCC Nom., “Endgame” – Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Play Revival, OCC Nom., Lortel Nom., Drama Desk Nom., “The Emperor Jones” – Callaway Award, O’Neill Credo Award, Drama Desk, Drama League, Lucille Lortel Nom.), “The Hairy Ape” – Drama Desk Drama League, Callaway Nom.).
Tickets are $30. Running time is approximately 90 minutes; no intermission. Age recommendation 13 and up.