Always: The Love Story of Irving Berlin at the UNITED Theatre

Always: The Love Story of Irving Berlin brings the music and surprisingly dramatic personal story of one of America’s greatest songwriters to Westerly on Saturday, August 15. Cabaret stars KT Sullivan and Mark Nadler perform the show as part of the George Moore Cabaret Series at the UNITED Theatre, using Berlin’s own songs to tell the story of his life and his marriage to heiress Ellin Mackay. (United Theatre)

This isn’t a conventional Irving Berlin tribute concert. Sullivan and Nadler sing, narrate and reenact moments from Berlin’s life, weaving familiar standards and lesser-known songs into the story according to what was happening to him at the time. The result sits somewhere between cabaret, musical theater and biography.

At its center is a love story that once made national headlines.

Irving Berlin and Ellin Mackay

By the 1920s, Irving Berlin had already risen from an impoverished immigrant childhood on New York’s Lower East Side to become one of America’s most successful songwriters.

Then he fell in love with Ellin Mackay, the daughter of wealthy financier Clarence Mackay.

There was a problem. Berlin was a Jewish immigrant who had grown up poor. Mackay was a Catholic heiress from one of America’s wealthiest families, and her father strongly opposed the relationship.

The couple married in 1926 despite his objections. Berlin reportedly gave Ellin the royalties to his song “Always” as a wedding gift, providing the title and emotional centerpiece for the show.

Their marriage lasted more than six decades, until Ellin’s death in 1988. (The Love Story of Irving Berlin)

Berlin’s Songs Tell the Story

Rather than stopping the story for a string of hits, Always uses Berlin’s music as part of the narrative.

Songs are performed in full or combined into medleys that follow different periods of Berlin’s life. The repertoire includes music associated with his romance with Ellin as well as his career, his immigrant experience and his contributions during two World Wars.

Among the songs associated with the production are “Cheek to Cheek,” “Let’s Face the Music and Dance,” “I Got Lost in His Arms,” “Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning,” “God Bless America” and, naturally, “Always.”

It’s quite a catalog to draw from. Berlin’s career stretched from Tin Pan Alley through Broadway and Hollywood, producing songs that remained part of American popular culture long after the era in which they were written.

The production has received the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs Award for Outstanding Revue and was nominated for both Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel awards.

KT Sullivan and Mark Nadler

The story is performed by two artists with deep roots in New York cabaret and the Great American Songbook.

KT Sullivan starred on Broadway in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and spent more than two decades performing at the Oak Room at New York’s Algonquin Hotel. She has also performed at venues including Birdland in New York and Crazy Coqs in London and became artistic director of the Mabel Mercer Foundation in 2012.

Mark Nadler brings an unusually broad skill set to the other side of the stage. He’s a singer, pianist, comedian and tap dancer whose career has included Broadway, Off-Broadway, cabaret and concert performances.

His Off-Broadway production I’m a Stranger Here Myself earned a Drama Desk nomination, and Nadler has appeared at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops as well as with orchestras around the country. His Broadway credits include Dame Edna: The Royal Tour.

Sullivan and Nadler have collaborated extensively, particularly on shows built around the Great American Songbook, which makes Always less a pairing of two performers than a production developed by artists who know how to play off one another.

Part of the George Moore Cabaret Series

The Westerly performance is presented as part of the UNITED’s George Moore Cabaret Series, bringing the production into the theater’s more intimate Black Box Auditorium.

That setting should fit this particular show especially well. Always isn’t built around elaborate scenery or a large ensemble. The focus remains on Sullivan, Nadler, the storytelling and Berlin’s music.

The UNITED itself has come full circle in a way that feels appropriate for an Irving Berlin show. The theater originally opened in 1926 as a vaudeville venue, the same year Berlin and Ellin Mackay were married. It later became a movie theater before closing in 1986. After an extensive restoration, the UNITED reopened in 2021 as a regional arts center for film, concerts, theater and educational programs.

So a century after the building first welcomed audiences, two cabaret performers will take its stage to tell a love story that also began in 1926.

Event Details

Date: Saturday, August 15, 2026

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Event: Always: The Love Story of Irving Berlin

Series: George Moore Cabaret Series

Performers: KT Sullivan and Mark Nadler

Location: United Theatre

Performance Space: UNITED Black Box Auditorium

Address: 5 Canal Street, Westerly, RI 02891

Box Office: (401) 388-8208

Accessibility: The UNITED is wheelchair accessible. Guests requiring accessible seating for live performances are encouraged to contact the box office before purchasing tickets.

Ticket Policy: Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. The UNITED advises purchasing through its official ticketing system rather than third-party sellers.

More Information

More information is available at the Event Website link below.

To purchase tickets, click the Event Ticketing link below.