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Tommie Barfield Elementary’s E.S.O.L. teacher Kathy O’Brien is a well-traveled soul who has been performing since she was in high school. O’Brien now brings the part of a Hollywood performer to the Marco Players Theater Company in “Murder on the Rerun,” now showing at 8 p.m. Wednesdays to Sundays through Dec. 2.

“I started performing when I was 16 in Massachusetts,” O’Brien said. “I played an exercise instructor, so that’s how it all started.”

After this first role, O’Brien performed in musicals, including “The Pirates of Penzance,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “The Gondoliers” and “Guys and Dolls.”

Besides singing in the choir of many noteworthy musicals, O’Brien was chosen to perform a few solos as a singing snowman in the Marco Players’ production of “The Farnsdale Towns women’s Guild Dramatic Society’s Production of A Scrooge’s A Christmas Carol.”

O’Brien is the elementary’s full-time teacher in charge of about 65 children whose native languages aren’t English.

“This is my fourth year at Tommie Barfield,” O’Brien said. “And I’m the E.S.O.L. teacher, which is English speakers of other languages. We have kids from Mexico, Brazil, Vietnam, Albania.”

Most of her foreign students, O’Brien says, are from Mexico. But that’s no problem for O’Brien who speaks Spanish fluently.

NATHALIE WINCH / Eagle staff

Tommie Barfield Elementary teacher Kathy O’Brien is one of the stars of the ensemble cast of "Murder on the Rerun."

“Luckily I can communicate with the parents and write notes home and stuff,” O’Brien said. “I’ve been teaching for over 20 years. I taught in Madrid, Spain, for six years, and taught in Puerto Rico with the Department of Defense. And I taught theater camp in the Canary Islands!”

Since moving to Marco Island, and joining the Marco Players Theater Company about two and a half years ago, she has been in four productions, including the current show, “Murder on the Rerun”.

“I play a Hollywood actress who the public thinks is a very innocent goody two-shoes,” O’Brien said of her character. “But she has another side to her that the public doesn’t see. She’s actually very nasty and not a very nice person. So it’s kind of fun to play a different kind of character.”

The entire cast, O’Brien said, gets along well and all of the performers are well suited to their roles. O’Brien readily admits there have been more than a few stumbling blocks along the road to get the show to its current level.

“It seems like we’ve been beset by one misfortune after another,” O’Brien said. “We’re starting to say it’s cursed, because the show was supposed to open in April. The first actor who played Hugh got transferred to Virginia. The second actor to play Hugh needed surgery. We have a very difficult time finding actors to try out. .Luckily we found Danny to play Hugh. And he’s really working out.”

She added, “Then Mai, our other leading actress, she had bronchitis. And another actress was in Thailand with her husband. The faux finishers have been in Brazil, but they’re back now. So it’s been stressful, but it always comes together in the end.”

The cast continues to be ready at 8 p.m. every Wednesday through Sunday for audiences to enjoy the whodunnit comedy that runs through Dec. 2.

“We all really like the show, and our assistant director likes it. She laughs,” O’Brien said. “So hopefully the public will like it, too. So we’re excited, and we are ready.”

For tickets, call the box office from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 642-7270.