Tom Durnin did the time for his white-collar crime. Now, he’s determined to win back the respect he believes he deserves—even if that means ripping apart the new life his family has so carefully put together in his absence. Tom’s son warily allows his father to camp out on his couch, hoping the man who let everyone down has finally turned a new page. After a lifetime of empty promises, can Tom find a place in a family that has worked so hard to move on without him?
From playwright Steven Levenson (Roundabout’s acclaimed The Language of Trees) comes this funny, raw and moving world premiere about the price we pay for defaulting on those we love. Scott Ellis (The Mystery of Edwin Drood) directs.
![A young man and woman stand shyly apart from each other, the woman smiling. The stand in front of a billboard at night next to a sign that says Colingswood Community College.](https://res.cloudinary.com/roundabout-theatre-company/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,g_auto,h_450,q_auto:eco,w_800/v1/placeholders/Production-Photos/Unavoidable-Disappearance-of-Tom-Durnin-/TomDurnin286r.jpg)
Christopher Denham and Sarah Goldberg
Photo by Joan Marcus![An older man wearing a black jacket over a denim shirt and tan pants. He puts one hand in his pocket, the other holding a black bag.](https://res.cloudinary.com/roundabout-theatre-company/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,g_auto,h_450,q_auto:eco,w_800/v1/placeholders/Production-Photos/Unavoidable-Disappearance-of-Tom-Durnin-/TomDurnin004r.jpg)
David Morse
Photo by Joan Marcus![In a messy living room set, a young man kneels on the floor with a solemn expression, facing away from an older man who sits on the floor and looks at him.](https://res.cloudinary.com/roundabout-theatre-company/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,g_auto,h_450,q_auto:eco,w_800/v1/placeholders/Production-Photos/Unavoidable-Disappearance-of-Tom-Durnin-/TomDurnin131r.jpg)
Christopher Denham and David Morse
Photo by Joan Marcus![An older man wearing an ID lanyard and a denim shirt sits in a car seat next to a man in a gray business suit.](https://res.cloudinary.com/roundabout-theatre-company/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,g_auto,h_450,q_auto:eco,w_800/v1/placeholders/Production-Photos/Unavoidable-Disappearance-of-Tom-Durnin-/TomDurnin007r.jpg)
David Morse and Rich Sommer
Photo by Joan Marcus![A man and woman sit together on a small leathe ottoman. The man wears a jacket and gray pants, the woman wears upscale white loungewear.](https://res.cloudinary.com/roundabout-theatre-company/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,g_auto,h_450,q_auto:eco,w_800/v1/placeholders/Production-Photos/Unavoidable-Disappearance-of-Tom-Durnin-/TomDurnin024r.jpg)
Christopher Denham and Lisa Emery
Photo by Joan Marcus![A young woman in a vest and skirt playfully leans against a bike rack by a sign that says Colingswood Community College. She talks with a young man in a flannel.](https://res.cloudinary.com/roundabout-theatre-company/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,g_auto,h_450,q_auto:eco,w_800/v1/placeholders/Production-Photos/Unavoidable-Disappearance-of-Tom-Durnin-/TomDurnin086r.jpg)
Sarah Goldberg and Christopher Denham
Photo by Joan Marcus![In a small but upscale living room set, an older man in a suit stands centerstage. Spaced out on either side of him is a woman in sweats and a man in a hoodie.](https://res.cloudinary.com/roundabout-theatre-company/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,g_auto,h_450,q_auto:eco,w_800/v1/placeholders/Production-Photos/Unavoidable-Disappearance-of-Tom-Durnin-/TomDurnin110r1.jpg)
Lisa Emery, David Morse, and Christopher Denham
Photo by Joan Marcus![in a messy living room at night, with blinds casting shadows across the stage, an older man crosses his arms on the couch and speaks to a younger man who sits on a chair and holds his own arm.](https://res.cloudinary.com/roundabout-theatre-company/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,g_auto,h_450,q_auto:eco,w_800/v1/placeholders/Production-Photos/Unavoidable-Disappearance-of-Tom-Durnin-/TomDurnin162r.jpg)
Christopher Denham and David Morse
Photo by Joan MarcusThe Unavoidable Disappearance Of Tom Durnin Cast
- James Durnin
- Christopher Denham
- Karen Brown-Canedy
- Lisa Emery
- Katie Nicholson
- Sarah Goldberg
- Tom Durnin
- David Morse
- Chris Wyatt
- Rich Sommer
The Unavoidable Disappearance Of Tom Durnin Creative
- Playwright
- Steven Levenson
- Director
- Scott Ellis
- Set Designer
- Beowulf Boritt
- Costume Designer
- Jeff Mahshie
- Lighting Designer
- Donald Holder
- Original Music & Sound Design
- Obadiah Eaves
Major support for The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin is provided by The Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater. Partial underwriting support is provided by Peggy and Mark Ellis, Stacey and Eric Mindich, and K. Myers.
This play is a recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award.
We thank our Roundabout Leaders for New Works: Alec Baldwin, Lois and Irvin Cohen, Linda L. D'Onofrio, Peggy and Mark Ellis, Jodi Glucksman, Sylvia Golden, Caryn and James Magid, Laura Pels International Foundation for Theatre, Laura S. Rodgers, Mary and David Solomon / GS Gives, Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Yolanda R. Turocy, Lori Uddenberg, Deborah and Thomas Wallace, and Xerox Foundation.
This production is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
![The empty house of the Laura Pels Theatre. Rows of grey chairs incline upwards towards the back of the house.](https://res.cloudinary.com/roundabout-theatre-company/image/upload/c_fill,f_auto,g_auto,h_340,q_auto:eco,w_440/e_grayscale/e_tint:100:391f55:0p:ea5297:100p/v1/placeholders/Pells_1000x386.jpg)
Presented at
Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre
Laura Pels Theatre
111 West 46th Street, New York, NY
between 6th and 7th Avenues