COMING OUT Enters Second Weekend of Performances on National Coming Out Day, 10/11

COMING OUT begins the second week of its three weekend run at The Abbey Theater of Dublin with an 8:00 pm performance on National Coming Out Day, Friday, October 11. Written by Dublin adventure novelist J.T. McDaniel, and directed by Colleen Dunne, the two act dark comedy plays Fridays at 8:00 pm and Saturdays at 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm through October 19.

"A lot of people are coming out in one way or another in this show," McDaniel relates. "While the gay marriage theme is fairly obvious, the issue of domestic abuse and emotional recovery may be even more important."

Karen Anderson (Martha Kathryn Smith), the young wife of bigoted televangelist Rev. James Anderson (Jim LeVally), was orphaned at twelve, and there is a strong implication that she was molested by at least one foster parent. She has also suffered the loss of an infant son, and endured years of verbal, mental, and physical abuse at the hands of her fundamentalist husband. Virtually silent and submissive during the first act, Karen's coming to grips with these issues becomes the dominant theme in the second.

"Karen was originally written as being the same age as her husband," McDaniel said. "Ultimately, I found that having her significantly younger worked better for the role. She's put up with a lot during eight years of marriage, and while you'd probably wonder just why a woman in her late thirties would even tolerate James, it's perhaps less surprising when it's a much younger woman who initially thought that marriage to a minister would be an escape from an abusive foster home. Martha does a wonderful job with an emotionally demanding part."

COMING OUT features author McDaniel, Brenda Newsom, Jim LeVally, Martha Kathryn Smith, Ashley Collins, Chris Wharton, Jai Furlong, Will 'TuTail' Smith, and Grace Rinehart. Tickets are $25.00 for adults and $20.00 for seniors and students. Phone and online orders for performances on October 11 and 12 can use discount code BW10W2 for a $10.00 discount. To order, call 1-866-558-4253, or order online at www.ComingOutThePlay.com/tickets.http://ComingOutThePlay.com

Photo by Lori Walsh