On May 1, 2015, the Phoenix Theatre presented the world premiere of Typhoid Mary by Tom Horan. Now, five years later, on May 1, 2020, we revisit the play about sickness and quarantine that we wish wasn’t so relevant (but is thankfully really funny).

Many people have heard of Typhoid Mary, but most are unfamiliar with Mary Mallon, the cook behind the name who was a feisty, vulgar, yet deeply religious Irish immigrant. This quirky, anachronistic telling of the discovery of Mary’s peculiar disease, as well as her forced quarantine, unfolds in front of a backdrop of changing notions of medicine, morality and cleanliness. Did she willfully infect others? Was she a victim of a misguided medical authority? Or is the truth even stranger?

Join us on Friday, May 1 for a free, one-night-only read on Facebook Live at 8 p.m., featuring a reunion of the premiere’s director Bill Simmons with original cast members Ben Asaykwee, Lauren Briggeman and Jolene Mentink Moffatt.