Oglethorpe alumna Gillian Rabin ’19 makes her debut performance on the Alliance Theatre stage in the world premiere of “Darlin’ Cory.”

The show is Alliance Theatre’s return to live performances and runs through October 3.

Gillian Rabin ’19

“Darlin’ Cory” is a new musical by playwright and novelist Phillip DePoy and Sugarland’s Grammy Award-winning front man, Kristian Bush.

Set against the backdrop of 1920s Appalachia in a tiny mountain town with no road in or out, “Darlin’ Cory” tells the story of a community with secrets. But when a young woman with ambition and intelligence — portrayed by Rabin — collides with a pastor deeply committed to preserving the status quo, cracks begin to appear in the town’s well-constructed façade.

The Tony Award-winning Alliance Theatre reaches more than 165,000 patrons annually and is the leading producing theatre in the Southeast. It has premiered more than 100 original productions, including numerous subsequent Tony Award winners.

“Surreal doesn’t even begin to describe it,” Rabin shared on Instagram. “I’m in awe of my colleagues and their capacity for storytelling.”

Gillian Rabin ’19 on the first day of rehearsals for Alliance Theatre’s “Darlin’ Cory.” Photo by Aniska Tonge.

At Oglethorpe, Rabin double majored in communication studies and theatre, and was an OU Theatre scholar and a member of Oglethorpe Singers. In fall 2017, she was one of three OU theatre students featured in Shakespeare in Love, an Alliance Theatre production staged at Oglethorpe’s Conant Performing Arts Center.

Signed with Atlanta talent agency People Store and former intern at Actor’s Express, the alumna has appeared in SkinTight (2019), Fun Home (2020), We Have History (2021), Just What the Doctor Ordered (2021), and Who’s Killing the Cheerleaders? (2020).

Check out the actress’s upcoming films Emergency, The Re-Education of Molly Singer, and Evolution of Nate Gibson.