Bonnie Lively and Bill Honl, who play the parents of the main characters in the play, “Outside Mullingar,” interact in a tense moment.

Bonnie Lively is excited. Aided by dialect coach Karen Bain, the longtime Clatsop County actress is appearing in an Astoria production of an Irish play, “Outside Mullingar.”

“I love the banter between all the characters,” Lively said. “It is very fast-paced and I think it is going to show a lot of really fun, family things that people will identify with.”

The play is directed by Susi Brown, the creative leader behind Astoria’s Pier Pressure Productions. She has spun off an entity that will produce drama as Astoria Readers Theatre.

The troupe begins its existence with a love story by John Patrick Shanley, first staged in 2014. It will be performed at a converted storefront location on 10th St. in Astoria. Performances are at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Shanley won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for his play “Doubt.” He also won an Academy Award for his screenplay for the 1988 movie “Moonstruck,” which earned Oscars for Cher and Olympia Dukakis.

“Outside Mullingar” was adapted for a movie called “Wild Mountain Thyme” in 2020. Brown said the “vibrant” script is ideal for readers theater, calling it “a comically charming tale of the complications of life and the ups and downs of love.”

The Astoria cast features Marcus Liotta and Nancy Montgomery as characters Brown describes as “two introverted misfits” in their 40s, living on their families’ adjacent farms. It is obvious to everyone they are a match, but to complicate matters, their families are feuding over land.

Their parents are played by Bill Honl and Bonnie Lively. Other members of the production team are Bain, Slab Slabinski, sound engineer, and Sally Musemeche, who is providing the performance space.

Pier Pressure Productions was created by Brown after the closure of The River Theater in Astoria in 2007, involving some of the same personnel.

It bridged the gap in the Astoria theater community until the Ten Fifteen Theater was founded in a downtown storefront four years ago. Daric Moore, who has moved away, was among the key contributors to the transition.

Brown describes the production as “a kickstarter of sorts,” hoping it will be the first of many readers theater shows. “The format has proven to be an invigorating and accessible mode for theater — for sharing stories that help us recognize ourselves in each other,” she noted.

Seating is limited at the converted storefront location. Tickets are available through the website of longtime arts supporter Columbia River Coffee Roaster or in person at its retail shop on Marine Drive in Astoria, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Any remaining tickets can be purchased at the door beginning an hour before each performance. A $20 ticket includes refreshments.

‘Outside Mullingar’

A play by John Patrick Shanley, directed by Susi Brown, 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Astoria Readers Theatre, 120 10th St., Astoria.

Tickets are $20 and include refreshments. They are available online at www.shop.columbiarivercoffeeroaster.com/products/tickets and in person at 279 W. Marine Drive, Astoria, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday, or at the door.