Columbia Theatre Artists Bring Olivier-Nominated 'Blackout Songs' to Off-Broadway

Columbia theatremakers brought the Olivier-nominated Blackout Songs to Off-Broadway for its United States debut. The two-hander play follows an unnamed couple as an Alcoholics Anonymous encounter sparks a tumultuous, decade-long love affair. Blackout Songs ran at the Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space through February 28, 2026.

Directing alum Rory McGregor '17 directs the production with student Brennan Urbi, his assistant director. New York Times critic Laura Collins-Hughes lauded McGregor for the play's "impeccable" US premiere. "It feels like an art house film in three dimensions: gritty, jagged, harrowing," she wrote in her showcase of new Off-Broadway productions.

Acting alum Sarah Chalfie '24 serves as understudy for Her, the play's female character and one of the only two roles in the intimate play. Chalfie took the stage in the starring role on February 9.

Blackout Songs was nominated for the Olivier Award recognizing Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre in 2023. Its sold-out original run moved to the main stage of Hampstead Theatre before the production moved to Off-Broadway with a new cast and creative team. British playwright Joe White wrote the play after three close friends lost their fathers to Alzheimer's. "I wanted to write about love and memory," he told The Arts Desk. 

Though the play is structured like a rom-com, it explores deeper themes about relationships and addiction. "I wanted to write about the joys of connecting with a kindred spirit (or kindred spirit-drinker), but also at how that co-dependency might become a toxic element, like alcohol itself, where they both act as savior and facilitator to each other," White said.

Rory McGregor is a British theatre director currently based in New York City. He was most recently the Associate Director to Patrick Marber on the Broadway revival of Glengarry Glen Ross. He directed the world premiere of Christina Masciotti’s No Good Things Dwell in the Flesh (ART/NY) which was selected as a New York Times Critics Pick. He has served as Associate Director for the world’s leading theatre directors including Sam Mendes, Patrick Marber, Julie Taymor, Rupert Goold, and Carrie Cracknell. Rory has taught at Columbia University, Bucks County Playhouse, Broadway Teaching Group, Irondale, and mentored undergraduate directing students at NYU/Playwright's Horizons Theatre School. The shows he has worked on have garnered 17 Tony nominations and seven wins. 

Brennan Urbi is a theatre artist across disciplines including directing and acting. They are a founding member of theatre groups Pick Six and The Collective. They wrote the TV Movie ManicMan! and the short film Irimi and played Samuel in the short film Pretty Pickle.

Sarah Chalfie is an actor based in New York. Recent credits include Hamlet (St. Louis Shakespeare Festival), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Hartford Stage), Small Tragedy, Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven (Columbia), FillFillFillFillFillFillFill (The Flea), The Rose Tattoo, and Off the Main Road (Williamstown Theatre Festival). Sarah has helped develop new work at Lincoln Center Theater, The Playwrights Realm, the Vineyard Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Rattlestick, The Flea, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival.