Kate Barry to Bring KATE, ALLIE AND THE '86 METS to Asylum NYC

Following an engagement at the Gilded Balloon during the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Emmy-nominated television producer, writer, and storyteller Kate Barry will bring her autobiographical solo comedy KATE, ALLIE AND THE '86 METS, directed by Alex Kagy (Improv Asylum/ UCB) to Asylum NYC for a limited engagement November 5–10, 2026. 

Inspired by a remarkable true story, KATE, ALLIE AND THE '86 METS is a hilarious, nostalgic, and deeply moving exploration of family, identity, and unexpected love, set against the unforgettable backdrop of the 1980s.

In 1986, as the New York Mets were making history and the hit CBS sitcom “Kate & Allie” was redefining the modern American family, two recently divorced Long Island mothers, Grace and Dorothy, took inspiration from the television series and decided to combine their households. Along with their four children, they moved into a home in Setauket, Long Island, creating an unconventional family built on friendship, shared responsibilities, and mutual support. Or so everyone thought. Decades later, their eldest daughter, Kate, discovered that what began as an arrangement between two single mothers was actually a love story. Grace and Dorothy had been in love all along, building a life together while raising their children.

Through an entertaining mix of personal storytelling, archival family photographs, video, nostalgic 1980s music, and memories both hilarious and heartfelt, Barry takes audiences on a journey through the joys, challenges, and surprises of growing up in a family that was ahead of its time.

The family's unconventional living arrangement attracted attention well before Barry brought their story to the stage. In 1999, Newsday featured the family in an article titled “Sharing a Solution,” examining how two single mothers successfully combined their households. The article is now part of the family's history and is referenced in the production.

For nearly three decades, Barry has built an acclaimed career bringing other people's stories to audiences around the world. An Emmy-nominated producer, executive, writer, and series creator, her work includes projects for Netflix, HBO, Amazon, Apple TV+, Disney+, Hulu, and National Geographic. Her credits include Gone Girls, Sally, Enigma, Titan, Take Care of Maya, I'll Be Gone in the Dark, and Solo Traveling with Tracee Ellis Ross. With KATE, ALLIE AND THE '86 METS, Barry steps out from behind the camera to tell the most personal story of her career: her own.

KATE, ALLIE AND THE '86 METS is written, directed and performed by Kate Barry and directed for the New York engagement by Alex Kagy. Editing and sound design are by Krystalline Armendariz, poster design by Matthew Brunson-Cline and Ashley Thomas, and prop design by Amber Unkle. Co-producers are Dan Barry, Liza Borghesani, and Katie Boren.

The production premiered to a sold-out audience at New York's 2024 storytelling festival before playing Dublin's Comedy Cellar and completing a 23-performance run at the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

For the upcoming New York engagement, Barry is expanding the production's cinematic storytelling, taking advantage of Asylum NYC's visual capabilities to incorporate archival family footage, photographs, and documentary-inspired elements. The engagement also represents another step in the story's evolution, with Barry currently developing a feature film adaptation titled Just Like Kate and Allie, which has been invited to Stowe Story Labs.

KATE BARRY

 

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