About the Play:

Little Bird is a full length comedy / drama by Mary Gallagher. A touching, funny yet deeply perceptive study of four well intentioned young people seeking to find their identities, each having rejected middle-class life in their own way and the mishaps of their fated interdependence. This remarkable first play introduced a new writer of exceptional originality and sensitivity to the theatre.

Little Bird is set in Kelly's apartment in a rundown section of Cleveland, flanked by universities and now infiltrated by middle-class inmovers. Kelly, a laid-back young artist who is finding it difficult to paint, ekes out a meagre living helping his friend Clint make custom furniture. Also on hand are Clint's lover, Prandy, a free-spirited "drop out" who now works as a waitress; and Prandy's vulnerable and somewhat "up-tight" younger sister, Maura, who is half-heartedly completing college. The central action of the play involves the complicated and sometimes stormy interaction of these four highly individualistic protagonists, each of whom, in his or her own way, has rejected the conventions of traditional middle-class life. The crisis of the play comes when Prandy announces that she is pregnant and Clint, who had previously planned to take off for parts unknown, refuses to change his plans despite her condition. Prandy's embittered decision to have an abortion drives a wedge between her and her more conventional sister, a rift which is widened still further when Maura embarks on an affair with the much older (and disturbingly haphazard) Kelly. In the end, when Clint returns from his wanderings, a reconciliation of sorts is achieved among the four – impelled by the deep-seated affection and concern that they feel for each other, but also tempered by the hurt and anger which have tested, and yet perhaps deepened, their fated interdependence.

Little Bird premiered in 1977 at The American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, was further developed at the Hudson Guild Theatre, the Berkshire Theatre Festival, and the Ensemble Studio Theatre. It was produced in 1980 at the 78th Street Theatre Lab in New York City.

Cast: 2 women, 2 men

What people say:

"…a riveting comedy about the relationship between two sisters and their boyfriends…." — New York Daily News

"Together and separately, they face fear, loneliness and the terrors and joys of loving relationships." — Berkshire Courier

"A funny, fast-paced play…." — Berkshire Eagle

"…moments of genuinely moving theatre." — Springfield Daily News

About the Playwright:

Mary Gallagher is an American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, actress, director and teacher. She currently teaches playwriting and screenwriting at New York University/Tisch School of the Arts. She has written screenplays for Paramount, MGM, HBO, NBC, CBS, Lifetime and Showtime.