Irish Repertory Theatre

Irish Drama.
New York Style.

1997-1998 Season

Long Day’s Journey Into Night

longdaysjourneyby Eugene O’Neill
directed by Charlotte Moore

March 13 – May 10, 1998

Elegant in its simplicity yet limitless in its scope, Long Day’s Journey Into Night is the tale of an ordinary summer’s day with extraordinary consequences. Drawing so heavily from the author’s personal history that it could only be produced posthumously, the story of the Tyrone family and their battle to unearth—and conceal—a lifetime of secrets continues to reveal itself to audiences as one of the most profound and powerful plays ever brought to the stage.

  • Obie Award, “Best Actor” – Brian Murray, Long Day’s Journey Into Night
  • Drama Desk Nom., “Best Actress in a Play” – Frances Sternhagen, Long Day’s Journey Into Night

 

“do not miss this rare opportunity” -Curtain Up

Creative Team:
Sets: Akira Yoshimura
Costumes: Linda Fisher
Lighting: Gregory Cohen
Hair: Robert-Charles Vallance
Associate Set Design: N. Joseph DeTullio
Music by Jason Robert Brown
Stage Manager: John Handy

Song At Sunset

songatsunsetIn the W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre

The Story of Sean O’Casey

conceived & directed by Shivaun O’Casey
starring Niall Buggy

January 15- February 16, 1998

“terrific” -New York Times

“touchingly truthful” -New York Daily News

Major Barbara

majorbarabraby George Bernard Shaw
directed & designed by Tony Walton

November 15, 1997 – January 4, 1998

The story concerns an idealistic young woman, Barbara Undershaft, who is engaged in helping the poor as a Major in the Salvation Army in London. For many years Barbara and her siblings have been estranged from their father, Andrew Undershaft, who now reappears as a rich and successful munitions maker. Undershaft, the father, gives money to the Salvation Army, which offends Major Barbara, who does not want to be connected to his “tainted” wealth. However, the father argues that poverty is a worse problem than munitions, and claims that he is doing more to help society by giving his workers jobs and a steady income than Major Barbara is doing to help them by giving them bread and soup. This 1905 play was written before society had fully experienced the vast human cost exacted by industrially produced weapons in modern warfare, as would subsequently be the case in World Wars I and II.

  • Drama League Nom., “Best Actress” – Melissa Errico

“incisive talk and brilliant ideas” –Star Ledger

“marvelously inventive…intelligent & pointed.’ –New York Post

Creative Team:
Lighting: Kirk Bookman
Sound: Randy Freed
Fight Director: B.H. Barry
Stage Manager: Elizabeth Larson
Associate Set Design: Klara Zieglerova
Hair: Robert-Charles Vallance
Associate Costume Design: Rachel Gruer

Rafferty Rescues The Moon

raffertyIn the W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre

by June Anderson
music by Larry Kirwan
directed & designed by Bob Flanagan & Akira Yoshimura

October 31, 1997 – January 5, 1998

It’s a dirty job, but somebody has to do it. Rafferty Rescues The Moon  is the story of a young boy who sets out to rescues the Moon which has been swallowed by the terrible Great Fish. Rafferty is accompanied on his dangerous, heroic journey by a panicky poet named Spider Murphy, and the bombastic Finbar Bat. The trio are confronted by a host of otherworldly creatures for Irish folklore, including Olivia, who just might be a witch, Boneless, a ghostly wraith of the boglands, and Megatroyd, a slippery green Merrow. Rafferty must use his wits, as well as his heart, to rescue Moon from the bottom of the Slaney River, and return her safely to her home in the sky. All in a day’s work.

 

 

The Irish…And How They Got That Way

theirish97by Frank McCourt
directed by Charlotte Moore
musical direction by Rusty McGee

September 1997 – January 4, 1998

The Irish… And How They Got That Way is an irreverent history of the Irish through the tumultuous 20th and 21st centuries through the eyes of Pulitzer Prize winning author, Frank McCourt (Angela’s Ashes, ‘Tis, Teacher Man).

McCourt’s razor sharp wit, coupled with his trademark bitter irony, and his boundless love for the Irish People are all underscored by glorious music extending all the way from the auld Irish folk ballades, through George M. Cohan’s patriotic love songs to America, World War II standards sung in movies, USOs and foxholes all over the world, and including the latest from contemporary Ireland’s U2.

irish-cast-97“Making successful entertainment out of serious history is a rare gift. Yet from the tragic 1840s potato famine to a haunting, modern U2 anthem, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and former history TEACHER FRANK MCCOURT’S RICHLY NARRATED, MUSICAL HISTORY LESSON, “THE IRISH … AND HOW THEY GOT THAT WAY,” IS PURE ENJOYMENT. “An exuberant, mostly Irish cast enacts McCourt’s wide-ranging material that sizzles with outrage, wit, pride and, of course, sentiment. Charlotte Moore, artistic director of the Irish Rep, has cohesively and artfully staged the work, with cast and musicians onstage in a storytelling grouping. Spirited narration of McCourt’s irony-tinged version of Irish history — combining fact, folklore, stereotypes and blarney — is interspersed with snippets or full productions of many familiar Irish songs, often accompanied by lively dancing. The troupe is backed by atmospheric projections of historical paintings, newspaper articles, letters, and black-and-white photos, yet the warmhearted production never feels like a documentary. THIS PRODUCTION OF “THE IRISH …” FULLY SUCCEEDS AS A SOULFUL, OFTEN ROLLICKING JOURNEY THROUGH 150 TUMULTUOUS YEARS OF IRISH-AMERICAN HISTORY.” — Associated Press

“Throughout the show, the music expresses a sentimental nostalgia through catch-in-your-throat numbers that make you reflexively tear up. the show concludes with U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” IT’S THE PERFECT ANTHEM FOR THOSE WHO PONDER WHAT THEY’VE GAINED — AND LOST.” — NY Post

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