On December 11, 2005 Tom Pelhrey appeared in a staged reading of the play "The Sunken Living Room" by David Caudle, directed Ryan Rillette. It was a benefit for the New Theatre and Southern Rep. He played a hunky 17 year old.The play was scheduled to have its premiere at Southern Rep in New Orleans in November, but due to hurricane Katrina but due to Hurricane Katrina, Southern Rep was forced to cancel the production along with most of their season.