Tom Lysaght

Raised Irish-Catholic in Brooklyn, Harvard graduate Tom Lysaght has written some 30 plays in both English and Spanish. His Off-Broadway play, Nobody Don’t Like Yogi, starring Emmy-winning actor Ben Gazzara as Yogi Berra, toured nationally. He was founding director and resident playwright of El Teatro de Pan y Paz (Bread and Peace Theater), while also serving as Manager of Radio Bahá’í of Lake Titicaca during his three-year residence in the Andes of Peru. A member of the Dramatists' Guild, Tom is the recipient of some dozen writing fellowships, including the MacDowell Colony, the Edward Albee Foundation, Scotland’s Hawthornden Castle, and the Israeli Center for the Arts. His published prose includes a historical novel (Persian Passion, 2019), a generational memoir (Old Wives’ Tales, 2022), and a collection of memories and essays (The Inner Atlas, 2025).

After the New York stage success of his dramatic-comedy, NOBODY DON’T LIKE YOGI, actors Penn Badgley (“You”) and Rainn Wilson (“The Office”) posted videos praising Tom’s historical novel PERSIAN PASSION as an Iranian “Game of Thrones.” His generational memoir OLD WIVES TALES portrays how, while running a puppet theater in the Andes, Tom ended up on the hit list of the Shining Path terrorists. In his new fact-based thriller, THE FATIMA FILE: The Case of the Missing Millennium, an ex-nun astrophysicist uncovers collusion between the Vatican Observatory and a shadow American cabal—suppressing a revelation powerful enough to redefine reality. But is the world ready for full disclosure? “A fascinating read. I loved this book,” writes investigative journalist Ross Coulthart. “So much is rooted in historical fact. A terrific read.”

Tom lives in Los Angeles. A chapter of his memoir, Till Your Father Comes Home, can be read on his website, Social Drama—Sacred Space, which serves as a resource for utilizing elements of theater (story, music, movement) in grassroots community building.