With over 90 plays being presented, Program #2 stars Emmy winner Cady McClain (Beyond the Gates, Law and Order: SVU) in Walter John Thompson’s What Happened Was; a dark comedy exploring memory, longing, and the blurry divide between performance and reality.
Directed by Obie and Drama Desk Award winning director, Austin Pendleton (Between Riverside and Crazy, Orson’s Shadow). “This is a beautiful little play that sneaks up on you,” says Pendleton, “I can’t think of anything more refreshing in these troubled times.” Produced by Axial Theater, What Happened Was will be on stage July 22nd, August 1 and 2nd, at 8pm on Chain Theatre’s 3rd floor (312 W. 36th Street). Tickets can be purchased at www.ChainTheatre.org/summer-oneact-fest-2025.
About the Director
An ensemble member of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Austin Pendleton has appeared in over 250 movies and TV shows. Directing accolades include winning an Obie for directing Three Sisters by Anton Chekov at Classic Stage Company with Maggie Gyllenhall and a Tony nomination for Best Director for the Broadway production of The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman with Elizabeth Taylor. Recently, he directed Between Riverside and Crazy by Stephen Adly Guirgis, which went on to win the Pulitzer Prize.
Cady McClain is a three-time Emmy© winner for her work on three different daytime serials. Recent stage work includes Off-Broadway as “Joan Plowright” in Orson’s Shadow by Austin Pendleton at Theater for the New City and regionally as “Shirley” in Shirley Valentine at Cape May Stage. A veteran of film and television, she is currently starring in Beyond the Gates on CBS and Paramount+.
Ryan Tramont's theater work includes Orson’s Shadow (25th Anniversary Off-Broadway revival), Pimm’s Mission (59E59), 23 Knives, Order (dir. Austin Pendleton), Crazy for the Dog (NY Times Critic’s Pick), A Life in the Theatre, American Buffalo, Hurlyburly, and 27 Shakespeare plays, including the title role in Hamlet and lago in Othello. TV/FILM: The Hurt Locker (dir. Kathryn Bigelow), Narcos, Hack.
About the Playwright
Walter John Thompson is a New York City-based playwright and screenwriter whose work blends dark humor, existential inquiry, and raw emotional honesty. A Columbia University graduate; Thompson studied with Eduardo Machado and Terry Southern, and a Fordham Law School-trained civil rights attorney. Thompson draws from a life rich with experience and reinvention.
About Axial Theater
Axial Theater is an ensemble-based, not-for-profit theater company currently in their 24th season dedicated to supporting the professional development of playwrights and actors through presenting staged workshops, development readings, and full productions.
For more info: www.AxialTheatre.org