Jun. 15 – Breathing Under Dirt

It is no secret soap opera fans develop a bond with their favorite characters. Almost anyone who has watched daytime television can tell you which character pulled at his or her heartstrings or which soap stars resulted in gritted teeth or clenched jaws.

So when the fan favorite Guiding Light ended after a record-breaking 57-year run, some felt they lost longtime friends. Now, thanks to the Lower Shore Performing Art Company, fans will have the opportunity to meet some of the Guiding Light leads they loved, hated and sympathized with in a new setting. In August, the company will present “Breathing Under Dirt,” a stage play written by and starring Guiding Light’s Michael O’Leary.

“Breathing Under Dirt” stars familiar faces from television and the big screen. Heading the all-star cast is Emmy winner Cynthia Watros, who played Libby on the popular ABC television show and cult favorite “Lost.”

She has starred in a host of other shows and movies, including House MD, The Drew Carey Show, The Young and the Restless and Guiding Light, where she portrayed Annie Dutton.

Watros will join other Guiding Light alum O’Leary, Tina Sloan, also a playwright (her play “Changing Shoes ” is gracing stages across the United States) and Grant Aleksander, who are otherwise known as Rick Bauer, Lillian Raines, Phillip Spaulding.
The award-winning “Breathing Under Dirt” is set against the backdrop of the 1950s South and details the generational effects of an unforgiving family.

O’Leary writes, “We bear witness with a mother and daughter as they grapple with their deep resentments toward each other. The ultimate message and hope of ‘Breathing Under Dirt’ is that we can reach reconciliation and forgiveness with loved ones while we still have life.”

Breathing Under Dirt is the winner of the Manhattan Repertory Theatre competition held in March this year. The play will feature local actors and will make its world premiere on Aug. 13-14 at the Ella Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

For more information and to purchase tickets for Breathing Under Dirt, visit www.lowershorepac.org or call (443) 614-0830/ (757) 894-0833