City Theatre's THE NIGHT ALIVE Begins Tonight

City Theatre launches its 41st season with the Pittsburgh premiere of The Night Alive, on the Mainstage tonight, October 10, through November 1, 2015. The play is written by Conor McPherson, and is directed by City Theatre Artistic Director Tracy Brigden, who is celebrating her 15th season as the Southside company's artistic leader.

Tommy has made a mess of things: he's living low in Dublin, just getting by on odd jobs, and doing his best to avoid his wife and kids. But when he rescues a mysterious woman, an escape out of the squalor is possible - if only they can shake their checkered pasts. This award-winning play ripples with humor and heart and wrestles with the complicated task of being human.

"I am so thrilled to once again present the beautiful work of Conor McPherson, one of Ireland's leading dramatists, to Pittsburgh audiences," says Ms. Brigden. "The Night Alive is a wonderfully funny, romantic, and suspenseful Irish yarn, with a glimmer of hope shining throughout. The play makes you laugh out loud one minute and then leaves you sitting on the edge of your seat the next. Audiences are in for a really fun adventure ride."

In addition to The Night Alive, Conor McPherson's plays include The Seafarer (City Theatre, 2009), St Nicholas (Bush Theatre/Primary Stages, New York), The Weir (Royal Court/Duke of York's/Walter Kerr Theater, New York; Laurence Olivier, Evening Standard, Critics' Circle, George Devine Awards), Dublin Carol (Royal Court/Atlantic Theater, New York), Port Authority (Ambassadors Theatre/Gate Theatre, Dublin/Atlantic Theater, New York), The Veil (National Theatre), and Shining City (Royal Court/Gate Theatre, Dublin/Manhattan Theater Club, New York; Tony Award nomination for Best Play).

The Night Alive features Rod Brogan, Ciaran Byrne, and local talent Brendan Griffin, each making their City Theatre debuts; and returning City favorites Hayley Neilsen (last seen in City's box office hit Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike) and Noble Shropshire (Outside Mullingar). The creative team includes Tony Ferrieri (scenic design), Robert C.T. Steele (costume design), Andrew David Ostrowski (lighting design), Elizabeth Atkinson (sound design), Catherine Moore (fight choreography), and Sheila McKenna (dialect coaching).