Stage

From Altar to Stage

actor returns to EC to direct fundraiser performance

Lauren Fisher |

A SECRET AND A GUN. Pat O’Brien, right, and Larry Ripp bring their performance of Whisper Into My Good Ear to the Grand Theatre for two performances, Jan. 26 and 27.
A SECRET AND A GUN. Pat O’Brien, right, and Larry Ripp bring their performance of Whisper Into My Good Ear to the Grand Theatre for two performances, Jan. 26 and 27.

Pat O’Brien was at the Camaraderie – a Water Street bar that has since burned down – with some UW-Eau Claire theater students after a performance of The Time of Your Life when the group discovered an unexpected commonality. Out of the congregation of nearly 10, a majority had been altar boys as children. It’s this childhood role that O’Brien, who grew up in Eau Claire and went on to a career in acting and directing, credits with his start in theater.

At the age of 10 he had to memorize lines and learn blocking, just as he would have in a play. When he was first given the responsibility he went home with his prayers and learned them overnight. The St. James Catholic School nun he was working with didn’t believe he had memorized them so quickly. “The priest was the star,” O’Brien said; then he gestured heavenward to illustrate God’s role as, in O’Brien’s words, “the Almighty critic.”

Then, he intended to be a priest – it wasn’t until a few years later that the implications of celibacy sank in. He didn’t start to seriously act until well into his college career at UW-Eau Claire. Since then, he has lived on both coasts and acted in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and as Mr. Dewey on Saved by the Bell. However, he prefers the stage to the screen and communicates his extensive career by way of listing theaters and troupes rather than by itemizing roles. He’s performed at New York’s Shakespeare in the Park, at the Guthrie, in La Hoya, and in dozens of fringe festivals.

On Jan. 26 and 27, O’Brien will return to Eau Claire to direct and perform in Whisper Into My Good Ear at the Grand Theater as a special fundraiser for the Chippewa Valley Theater Guild. O’Brien and Larry Ripp star in this two-night, two-man show about a pair of elderly men. Charlie, played by Ripp, is bitter, mourning the loss of his sight and his wife’s memory loss. O’Brien’s character, Max, is a quiet man, thoughtful and articulate, with a secret.

The duo received great reviews for their performance of Whisper Into My Good Ear at the Minnesota Fringe Festival in 2017. Following a performance at the Capital Fringe Festival in Washington, D.C., Ryan Taylor for DC Theatre Scene wrote: “There’s virtually no action. It’s one of the more riveting shows of this year’s Capital Fringe Festival.”

After viewing the Minneapolis performance, Ann Sessions, executive director of the Chippewa Valley Theatre Guild, invited Ripp and O’Brien to perform in Eau Claire. “We are always excited to be able to bring his talent to The Grand Theatre and this community,” she said.

Whisper Into My Good Ear, written by William Hanley and starring Pat O’Brien and Larry Ripp, will be performed at 7:30pm on Jan. 26 and 27 at the Grand Theatre, 102 W. Grand Ave., Eau Claire. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students. For more information, visit www.cvtg.org. To buy tickets, call 715-832-7529.