A Staged Reading
on the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage
by Jerome Kilty
Directed by Charlotte Moore
Starring Melissa Errico and David Staller
Adapted from the legendary correspondence between George Bernard Shaw and celebrated actress Mrs. Patrick Campbell, Jerome Kilty’s Dear Liar explores the relationship between these two fiery and fascinating personalities. In Kilty’s masterful compilation between “Stella and Joey”… (which they nicknamed one another)… in scenes of both lovemaking and furious confrontation, they verbally duel with each other, all the while making passionate love through their gorgeously exorbitant exchanges.
David Staller, who has dedicated two decades to all things Shavian, embodies George Bernard Shaw as no other actor could possibly approach, and the Tony-nominated Melissa Errico, acclaimed for her performance as Eliza Doolittle, consumes the role of Mrs. Patrick Campbell, who was herself Shaw’s original Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion.
Irish Repertory Theatre last produced Dear Liar in 1999. Directed by Charlotte Moore, it starred Marian Seldes, who won the Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance as Mrs. Pat, and distinguished Irish Actor Donal Donnelly as George Bernard Shaw.
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Melissa Errico, “The Maria Callas of American musical theater,” as Opera News has called her, referencing both her silken voice and dramatic, expressive intensity, Melissa Errico’s career is characterized by a dazzling range of passions as actress, singer, and author. She is thrilled to return to Irish Rep where she has starred in numerous productions including her Drama Desk Award-nominated performances in The Importance of Being Earnest and Candida, and playing Sharon in the musical Finian’s Rainbow twice (the second time she chronicled in an essay for The New York Times). She starred as Daisy Gamble in Irish Rep’s acclaimed production of On A Clear Day You Can See Forever (which she also explored in an essay for The New York Times in a pioneering piece on the sexual gender stereotypes in American musicals). Also known for her starring roles on Broadway, her tribute album, Sondheim Sublime, was called by The Wall Street Journal “The best all-Sondheim album ever recorded.” Nominated for a Tony for her appearance in Michel Legrand’s only Broadway musical, Amour, she was asked to write the eulogy to Legrand in The New York Times in 2019; while, that fall, Ghostlight Records reissued an expanded version of her symphonic album, which Legrand arranged and conducted, as Legrand Affair Deluxe Edition. She is currently working on her first book, a memoir tentatively titled Terminal Ingenue.
David Staller is the founding artistic director of New York City’s Gingold Theatrical Group, now in its 18th year. He directed the acclaimed Off-Broadway productions of Bernard Shaw’s Candida, Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Caesar and Cleopatra, Heartbreak House, Man and Superman, Major Barbara, You Never Can Tell, and Widowers’ Houses, (all filmed by the NYPL at Lincoln Center). His production of Candida will be streamed online later this year. He oversees all of GTG’s programs, (including the SPEAKERS’ CORNER New Play Development Program, PROJECT SHAW reading series at Symphony Space, and several partnerships with NYC schools), has produced and directed many plays and special events around the world, and is frequently invited upon the international theatre as an activist speaker about equal human rights and all things Shaw. He has directed performances of all of Shaw’s 65 plays, acted in London, in three Broadway and almost fifty Off-Broadway plays, and twice performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall. Member: SDC, AEA, SAG/AFTRA.
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Dear Liar is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com