FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2026
A cast of ten brings a powerful American drama of pride, family, identity, and shattered illusions to life at the historic Bath theatre.
BATH, OHIO – Western Reserve Playhouse continues its ambitious 2026–2027 MainStage season with A Touch of the Poet, Eugene O’Neill’s sweeping drama about the stories we tell ourselves, the people we love, and the price of refusing to face reality. The production runs November 13–22, 2026, at Western Reserve Playhouse.
Set in 1828 in a modest tavern outside Boston, A Touch of the Poet introduces Cornelius “Con” Melody, a proud Irish immigrant and former military officer who refuses to surrender his vision of himself as a gentleman of wealth and distinction. Though his fortunes have long since faded, Con clings fiercely to the symbols of his former glory: his military uniform, his beloved horse, his poetry, and the memory of a life that no longer exists.
His long-suffering wife, Nora, works tirelessly to keep the family afloat, while their spirited daughter, Sara, sees through her father’s grand illusions. When Sara falls in love with a young man from a wealthy American family, tensions surrounding class, identity, ambition, and family loyalty threaten to tear the Melodys apart.
At once devastating, darkly funny, and deeply human, O’Neill’s play explores the contradictions of the American Dream and asks a question that remains strikingly relevant: What happens when the person we believe ourselves to be can no longer survive the truth?
The production features Mark Stoffer as Con Melody, Colleen McLinden as Sara Melody, and Ashley Collins as Nora Melody.
Joining them are Jim Fippin as Cregan, Cory Enriquez as Maloy, Mary Beth Knode as Deborah, Keenan Carosielli as Gadsby, Thomas Greene as Dan Roche, Patrick Hanlon as Paddy O’Dowd, and Sullivan Ratcliff as Patch Riley.
Written in the 1940s and first staged in the 1950s, A Touch of the Poet is part of O’Neill’s unfinished dramatic cycle exploring generations of Irish-American life. The playwright, a four-time Pulitzer Prize winner and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature, remains one of the defining voices of American theatre.
For Western Reserve Playhouse, the production represents the kind of ambitious, artistically challenging work at the heart of the theatre’s mission. Following September’s By the People festival, A Touch of the Poet continues a season examining American identity through stories of belonging, class, ambition, and the often painful distance between our ideals and our realities.
With an intimate 98-seat auditorium, Western Reserve Playhouse offers audiences an opportunity to experience O’Neill’s towering American drama up close, where every confrontation, confession, and moment of tenderness becomes deeply personal.
Performance Information
Production: A Touch of the Poet by Eugene O’Neill
Dates: November 13–22, 2026
Location: Western Reserve Playhouse, 3326 Everett Road, Richfield, OH 44286
Tickets: $25 general admission; $15 student admission
Information and tickets: www.thewrp.org
About Western Reserve Playhouse
Western Reserve Playhouse is a historic, intimate theatre located in Bath, Ohio, dedicated to producing ambitious theatre and creating opportunities for artists and audiences throughout Northeast Ohio. Through its MainStage productions, educational programming, special events, and community partnerships, WRP strives to be a place where artists can take risks, audiences can discover something unexpected, and extraordinary theatre can happen close to home.
Media Contact
Braelin Andrzejewski
Director of Marketing & Communications
Western Reserve Playhouse
braelin@thewrp.org
www.thewrp.org
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