Reed and Ephraim Birney to Lead New York Premiere of Chester Bailey at Irish Rep

Irish Repertory Theatre will present the New York premiere of Chester Bailey, starring Tony winner Reed Birney (The Humans) and his son, Ephraim Birney (Gotham). Performances are scheduled to run October 12-November 13, with an official opening on October 19.

Written by Emmy Award winner Joseph Dougherty (Thirtysomething) and directed by Emmy Award nominee Ron Lagomarsino (Digby), Chester Bailey is described as follows: "In a stateside hospital at the close of World War II, a young man recovers from catastrophic injuries. Or so the doctors have told him. But Chester Bailey denies what's happened to him has actually happened, which is how he comes under the care of Dr. Philip Cotton. Older, wounded in his own ways, Cotton is charged with leading Chester back to reality. The journey is not what either man expected."

Chester Bailey had its first reading in 2012 at American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco and a subsequent reading in 2015 at Irish Rep.The piece was workshopped and received its 2016 world premiere at ACT (where it won Theatre Bay Area Awards including Outstanding World Premiere Play and Outstanding Production of a Play). Since then, Reed Birney and Ephraim Birney have starred in productions at the Contemporary American Theatre Festival and Barrington Stage Company.

The Irish Rep creative team includes scenic design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by Toni Leslie-James, lighting design by Brian MacDevitt, and sound design by Brendan Aanes. April Ann Kline serves as the production stage manager.