Marvin’s Room Director
Thomas James O’Leary talks about his personal connection to the play and what he hopes will catch the audience by surprise
Q. How did you first become involved with Actors Co-op?
TJOL: I first discovered the Actors Co-op when I saw their lovely production of Ah, Wilderness! I reached out to them, and over the next year or so, members of their Production Committee attended a couple productions I directed before I had my first meeting with them. After that meeting, they offered me 33 Variations. I was thrilled that I got to direct one of my dream plays for my first directing job with the Co-op. I was blessed with a dream cast and design team and we even won four Ovations Awards for that production.
Q. What attracted you to direct Marvin’s Room? What is most compelling to you about this story?
TJOL: I was fortunate to see the original Off-Broadway production of Marvin's Room at the Minetta Lane Theatre in NYC back in 1992. When the Co-op reached out to me to see if I had any interest in directing it, I jumped at the opportunity. I love this play! My original connection was a personal one. In 1992, I was living a lot of what is in the play. I was in the throes of caregiving for my partner who was very ill. We had heard that Scott McPherson who wrote the play was also caregiving for his partner at the time, although he first wrote the play based on his experiences as a youngster living with older relatives. We saw the play and we were deeply affected by its surprisingly quirky humor and grace in telling our story. What I find most compelling about the story is Scott's effortless comedic tone - he's drawn to what's funny in these difficult situations. Very few writers are able to effectively put such a comic spin on this type of material, which can often get melodramatic or be overly sentimental. There's none of that in Scott's writing. He navigates the serious terrain so easily, bouncing from comedy to drama and back again, sometimes in a single breath!
Mr. O’Leary winning the 2018 Ovation Award for Best Direction for the 2017 Actors Co-op production of 33 Variations
Q. How would you describe this play to people?
TJOL: Two long-estranged sisters, Bessie and Lee, reunite as they sort out the caregiving responsibilities for their very ill father and slightly off-kilter aunt. Lee brings along her teenage boys who have their own issues. The stressful and humorous family dynamics form the backdrop of a story about how we manage to keep on keeping on, when there might not be any happy endings. And yet, it's often crazily, humanly, improbably funny! Everyone is transformed for the better throughout the play. In the end, it's a story about how to love unconditionally.
Q. What do you want people to experience in watching this play?
TJOL: I hope the audience will feel at home in Marvin's room and enjoy the sometimes whacky, sometimes moving, and always human ride. There is a role for everyone to relate to in this play depending on what side of the prism you're on. And the message is so inspiring.
Mr. O’Leary directed last year’s Ovation Recommended production of The Christians
Q. What makes this play an important story to tell?
TJOL: I think the subject matter of caregiving and being cared for is one that so many people are dealing with today, as we baby boomers are either acting as caregivers or are in need of care ourselves. This play so deftly covers both sides of that coin - or every side of the prism that reflects each role in this dynamic. We need that story told and I just love that this play uses humor to say "Hey, I know what you're going through. You're not alone." We're all in Marvin's room, and we can laugh a little and love a lot along the way.
Q. What are some of the challenges in directing this play?
TJOL: We have focused a lot on getting the tone right - it's right there in the script, but it's sometimes a challenge to trust how much comedy is interwoven into some of the scenes with serious subject matter. But I'm in love with Scott's writing, so that has been a joy to work on. There are a lot of moving parts to this production, literally and figuratively, and we're all being quite ambitious with the design elements - set, lights, props, sound, music - but I am blessed to have an ace team of designers, and I can't wait to see it all come together! We've also been blessed with a fine very young actor who is playing Lee's 12-year-old son. It's my first time working with someone that young in a pretty sizeable role, so we're taking the time needed to teach him the in's and out's of stagecraft, but he is learning so fast, that he now knows the other characters' lines better than they do sometimes!
Mr. O’Leary working with actor Marek Meyers during rehearsals for Marvin’s Room
Q. What do you think we will find most surprising from this production?
TJOL: It's funny! It's grounded in a sometimes painful reality, but much of the dialogue is written as deftly as the best comic sketches from vaudeville or the best sitcoms on TV today. Scott admitted that as he wrote the play, he wrote funny until he ran out of funny, given where story needs to go, and that works beautifully. What's touching about the story reveals itself in such a natural way, and then gets us laughing again. It bounces back and forth between comedy and drama so effortlessly, just like the bouncing light in Marvin's room!
