WHEN IT HAPPENS TO YOU
“Powerful. Painful. Maddening. Brave. Thank you.”
-Susan B. Sorenson PhD, Writer, Professor, University of Pennsylvania
SHOW INFO
When It Happens to You, a play by Tawni O’Dell based on her memoir, captures the unquantifiable damage her daughter suffered following a brutal sexual assault. Blending humor with unflinching honesty, the play explores the question: “How does a normal, happy family recover from a trauma of this size and scale?”
The production has received rave reviews off-Broadway and in London, and it comes to Adelphi starring acclaimed English actresses Amanda Abbington (Sherlock) and Rosie Day (Outlander) with direction by Jez Bond. This is a very special production that is not to be missed.
CAST
Amanda Abbington (Tara) Amanda Abbington is an English actress best known for her television roles as Mary Morstan in the acclaimed BBC series Sherlock and Josie Mardle in Mr Selfridge. Her extensive television career also includes Case Histories, Cuffs, Safe, Dream Team, After You’ve Gone, Wolfe, Desperate Measures and Inside No. 9. On stage, Abbington has appeared in productions including God of Carnage, The Son, Abigail’s Party, The Unfriend and When It Happens to You. Her film credits include The Good Night, Another Mother’s Son, Crooked House, The Lost King and The Queen and I. Over a career spanning more than three decades, Abbington has worked extensively across British television, film, and theatre.
Rosie Day (Esme) is an English actress known for her roles as Mary Hawkins in Outlander and Tina Pemberton in the comedy-drama series Living the Dream. Her film credits include The Seasoning House, for which she won Best Actress at the Screamfest Horror Film Festival, as well as All Roads Lead to Rome, Butterfly Kisses, Down a Dark Hall and Hard Home. She began acting as a child and has appeared on television in Prime Suspect 1973, Good Omens, Call the Midwife, McDonald & Dodds and The Sandman. Her stage credits include Summerfolk, Les Misérables, Spur of the Moment, The Girl Who Fell and her self-written one-woman show Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon. Day has also built an extensive voice acting career, with credits in video games including Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker, Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed and Genshin Impact.
CREATIVE TEAM
Tawni O’Dell (Playwright) After nearly two decades at the forefront of critically acclaimed literary fiction, New York Times bestselling novelist Tawni O’Dell has spread her writing wings to include film, podcasts, and live theatre. Her play, When It Happens to You, opened Off-Broadway in October 2019. Based on her personal experience, the theatrical memoir is about a mother’s struggle to help restore a sense of safety and wholeness to her family after her daughter was the victim of a brutal attack. Her 2023 comedy/drama, Pay The Writer, played New York’s Pershing Square Signature Center starring Ron Canada, Marcia Cross, and Bryan Batt. Focusing on the complicated relationship between a legendary literary agent and his best friend-turned-most-successful client, O’Dell’s socially intuitive play explored how an artist’s life is controlled by their calling and talent. Tawni is the bestselling author of six novels including her latest, the coal town thriller, Angels Burning. Her first novel, Back Roads, was an Oprah Winfrey Book Club selection and was made into a film with a screenplay adapted by O’Dell. She also wrote and co-produced the popular audio drama, Rewrites. Her novels have been published in over 40 countries, and her writing has appeared in anthologies, magazines, and newspapers throughout the world.
Jez Bond (Director) is a British theatre director and the founder and Artistic Director of Park Theatre in London, which he opened in 2013. His directing credits include I Have Been Here Before, Sleeping Beauty, The Twits, Adult Supervision, Hurling Rubble at the Moon and Building the Wall. At Park Theatre, he directed Miriam Margolyes in the world premiere of Madame Rubenstein and Ian McKellen in the one-man show Shakespeare, Tolkien, Others & You. Bond also directed the first English-language production of Jean Poiret’s play La Cage aux Folles, translated by Simon Callow. In addition to directing, he has co-written several stage productions, including Sleeping Beauty, Jack and the Beanstock, Rapunzel and the recurring celebrity production Whodunnit (Unrehearsed).
NewYorkRep (Co-Producer) NewYorkRep develops and produces new plays and musicals that inspire and compel social change by telling stories that expose our humanity. By illuminating social and ethical questions through art, we strive to create provocative theater that promotes empathy, compassion, and inclusion. Led by Gayle Damiano Wazenberg (Founding Executive Director) and Jeff Gurner (Producing Artistic Director), New York Rep is proud to be a Co-Producer for When It Happens to You with MMaxwell Media.
MMaxwell Media (Co-Producer) Mitchell J Maxwell is an American Producer, Director, Author & Entrepreneur. He is well known for the acclaimed novel Little Did I Know, subsequently developed as a Broadway musical and the first Broadway podcast to appear on Apple. Most recently, Maxwell has headed productions of 3 new plays, When It Happens To You, Pay the Writer, and Windows.
PRESS
“When It Happens to You by Tawni O’Dell is a raw, urgent, and deeply human portrayal of the ripple effects of sexual violence. As someone who leads a survivor-centered organization and walks alongside countless students and families navigating the aftermath, this film felt personal. It doesn’t just tell a story—it honors the truth that too many carry silently. What struck me most was how it captured the heartbreak, the anger, and the quiet strength required to survive what should never have happened. Tawni’s work reminds us that healing is not linear, justice is not always served perfectly, but silence must never be the final word. This play is necessary – especially now.”
Kenyora Johnson, MSW, CEO, End Rape On Campus
”The play is mesmerizing, the acting superb, the writing even better. A. true work of art. Leading lady is perfectly cast and the dialogue is so true to life. I couldn’t stop nodding my head! I envied that girl having a mother who cared when my own mother blamed me because I wore mini skirts. Thank you for making it available.”
Survivor
“Thank you for creating this glimpse of the reality of everyone affected by SA. I’ve been a primary and secondary survivor. The mother’s perspective hit me so hard. When my daughters told me they had been assaulted I damn near lost my mind. So many thoughts went through my mind, mostly those of inadequacy for not protecting my babies. I felt feelings of rage so much so that I had to be really mindful around my daughters not to show this in fear of any hope for recovery would come through from my initial reactions. In both of my daughters situation the abuser was someone in their circle of trust. I wanted to do something to eliminate their fears of having to face that individual ever again. I went so far as to consult someone about eliminating these individuals. I realized quickly that this was not the answer. I felt powerless. I ached so much for them. I wanted them to have justice. That will never come as neither of them want to be dragged through court and be re-traumatized. Your play opened up some old wounds for me, but being in therpy and working on my recovery has been paramount to my healing and that of my children. Thank you for your courage to write and make this happen.”
Melodi Allison, Prevention Educator/Victim Advocate Sexual Assault Services of Northwest New Mexico, Mom, Sister, Survivor