‘Kate, Allie, and the ‘86 Mets’ invites audience to connect the dots
Kate Barry’s childhood was anyone’s dream — like summer camp made permanent — when her best friends moved into her house, along with their mother. It was a perfect fit: Both of their mothers were divorced, and it would be much easier to split the costs of living and childcare under the same roof. “Sort … Read More
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Kate Barry’s childhood was anyone’s dream — like summer camp made permanent — when her best friends moved into her house, along with their mother. It was a perfect fit: Both of their mothers were divorced, and it would be much easier to split the costs of living and childcare under the same roof.
“Sort of like Kate and Allie,” the family would repeatedly say to explain their unique arrangement, referring to the ‘80s sitcom that featured two single mothers who did the same. After all, it was 1986 on Long Island, the summer the Mets won the World Series, and anything felt possible.
But all is not as it appears to be in Emmy-nominated Barry’s solo one-act play, directed by Alex Kagy, as we explore Barry’s memories, first through the lens of a child, then an adult. Over time — more specifically, once Barry begins to see a therapist — she realizes that her two moms were not exactly like Kate and Allie after all, and they kept that love a secret for 40 years.
Barry’s autobiographical Off-Broadway storytelling drips with nostalgia for the summer of 1986, paying special homage to staples like Big Gulp sodas, Barbies, Mad Libs, and endless camping trips. After a Summer 2025 run at the Edinburgh Fringe, where the story was acclaimed as a “Hidden Gem,” Barry and the rest of her team took "Kate, Allie, and the ‘86 Mets" back to New York for a limited engagement run from Nov. 5-10. On Nov. 7, they held a special taping of the show at Asylum NYC on East 24th Street.
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Kate Barry, seen here during a curtain call, wrote, directed, and performed "Kate, Allie, and the '86 Mets."[/caption]
“When I was deciding to do the show, I looked at stand-ups, because they play themselves. And because it’s not scripted,” Barry said in an interview with Gay City News.
What Barry does in "Kate, Allie, and the ‘86 Mets" is true storytelling because she draws directly from memory and her narrative has the ability to change slightly with each retelling. Her story plays out against a backdrop of photos and videos showing her family through the years, and it becomes easy to forget that this is a solo performance.
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The production team behind "Kate, Allie, and the '86 Mets."Donna Aceto[/caption]
“Some jokes I remember, some jokes I don’t,” said Barry, who had zero on-stage experience prior to the production’s debut in 2024. “In Scotland, I didn’t curse as much.”
Barry’s brother, Dan Barry, co-produced the show and spoke with Gay City News afterwards. He lamented the societal pressures that surrounded his mothers, Grace and Dorothy, during his childhood, understanding only in retrospect the lengths they were willing to go in order to protect their love, but especially to protect their children.
“As a parent, you know, you hide parts of yourself,” said Dan, who now has a daughter. “Opponents of gay marriage … see everything as an issue of sex,” he continued. “And everybody that’s lived within it thinks of it as family and love.”
Kate Barry’s credits as a producer include the 2020 HBO mini series "I’ll Be Gone in the Dark," and the 2025 Netflix docuseries "Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer." Her hope is to release "Kate, Allie, and the ‘86 Mets" as a feature film.
Kate Barry, seen here during a curtain call, wrote, directed, and performed "Kate, Allie, and the '86 Mets."[/caption]
“When I was deciding to do the show, I looked at stand-ups, because they play themselves. And because it’s not scripted,” Barry said in an interview with Gay City News.
What Barry does in "Kate, Allie, and the ‘86 Mets" is true storytelling because she draws directly from memory and her narrative has the ability to change slightly with each retelling. Her story plays out against a backdrop of photos and videos showing her family through the years, and it becomes easy to forget that this is a solo performance.
[caption id="attachment_65755" align="aligncenter" width="700"] The production team behind "Kate, Allie, and the '86 Mets."Donna Aceto[/caption]
“Some jokes I remember, some jokes I don’t,” said Barry, who had zero on-stage experience prior to the production’s debut in 2024. “In Scotland, I didn’t curse as much.”
Barry’s brother, Dan Barry, co-produced the show and spoke with Gay City News afterwards. He lamented the societal pressures that surrounded his mothers, Grace and Dorothy, during his childhood, understanding only in retrospect the lengths they were willing to go in order to protect their love, but especially to protect their children.
“As a parent, you know, you hide parts of yourself,” said Dan, who now has a daughter. “Opponents of gay marriage … see everything as an issue of sex,” he continued. “And everybody that’s lived within it thinks of it as family and love.”
Kate Barry’s credits as a producer include the 2020 HBO mini series "I’ll Be Gone in the Dark," and the 2025 Netflix docuseries "Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer." Her hope is to release "Kate, Allie, and the ‘86 Mets" as a feature film. 
