2012-2013 Season

W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre

The Irish Repertory Theatre
in association with Rose Upon the Rood Productions presents

Gibraltar
An adaptation after James Joyce’s Ulysses

by Patrick Fitzgerald
directed by Terry Kinney

June 5- July 28, 2013

Buried in the heart of a complex book lies a simple love story, the story of Leopold and Molly Bloom.

Haunted by the death of a son and incapacitated by the havoc that loss has wrought on their relationship, they’re treading water. Bloom’s solution – Let Molly take a lover – Then she’ll appreciate Bloom more – She’ll tell him all about it – And thus they’ll recover their lost language of love. He embarks on his Odyssey around Dublin knowing full well that Molly is going to have an affair that afternoon. Can this gambit work? We wander far and wide with our unconquered hero until day turns to night and Bloom returns home to the comfort of his bed and sleep. Then Molly awakens. And has the last word. Yes …

“demonstrates the play’s fidelity to the book’s candor…the language sings.” -NY Times

“Joyce revelled in the juxtaposition between the sacred with the sensual (and to some ears, the obscene). In “Gibraltar,” we do as well.” -New York Times 

“Gibraltar feels like leafing through a well-loved book, rereading only the favorite bits.” -Time Out

“the production conveys a bittersweet ambience and a powerful sense of another time and place” -Epoch Times

“two knockout performances by Fitzgerald and Cara Seymour…It’s a real tour-de force” -Huffington Post

“an evocative telling of a classic” -NYPost

“a heart-felt romantic romp” -CurtainUp

“skillful adaptation” -TheaterScene

W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre

in association with Georganne Aldrich Heller & Jami Heidegger

by Johnny O’Callaghan
directed by Tom Ormeny

April 15- May 26, 2013

Johnny O’Callaghan’s Who’s Your Daddy? is the uplifting and funny true story of his adoption of a Ugandan orphan. No one expected the single, gay, out-of-work actor to ever become a father – but a documentary shoot in Africa turns into an odyssey of the heart.

The Los Angeles Times called O’Callaghan “a charmer (think Denis Leary’s puckish younger brother),” adding that the play’s “infectious comedy and irreverent insights keep the evening sharp.” LA Weekly praised the show: “It’s a GO! A well-calibrated performance that elicits audience adulation.” Last summer, Who’s Your Daddy transferred to Edinburgh Fringe with The Independent calling it “superb” and Scots Gay Magazine recommending it as “a powerful, moving piece of theatre.”

Learn more about Who’s Your Daddy? in the New York Times interview with writer/actor Johnny O’Callagahan!

The New York Times says of Johnny O’Callaghan: “it is impossible not to love his story.”

“Fiercely funny and incredibly uplifting” – Irish Voice

“It’s gripping drama… So much to praise, so little space” – Irish Echo

“a great story, told with wit and energy…a tale not to be missed.”> –Reviews Off Broadway

“a winning piece…excellent”- Woman Around Town

W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre

by Laoisa Sexton
directed by Tim Ruddy

March 13- April 5, 2013

Ireland is experiencing one of the greatest economic downturns in its history, the great recession, and three women in Dublin, are throwing down their handbags and looking for love, no matter what it costs.

For Love takes us on a relentless ride, a romp through the urban sexual experiences of three women in modern day central Dublin… Is there more than a one night stand in Val’s future? Can Tina find the right dress if she’s got the wrong man? Should Bee hop into bed with a married man or just go to the zoo? Or is there something else out there?

Witness what it means to be single to three Irish women, what they will put themselves through and what they will or won’t do…FOR LOVE…

“a riotously tart and fiercely energetic production” -NY Times

“Like ‘Sex and the City’…This fast, funny play is bound to strike a chord with any woman who’s ever looked for love in the wrong places” -NY Post

“sexy, salty, sharp” -Backstage

W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre

in association with Fallen Angel Theatre Company

by Charlotte Jones
directed by John Keating

January 9 – February 17, 2013

Set in 1920’s England, Charlotte Jones’s Airswimming is based on the true story of two women (Miss Kitson and Miss Baker), who have been incarcerated in a hospital for the “criminally insane” for having borne illegitimate children. Forgotten by their families and not released until the 1970’s, Dora and Persephone adopt alter-egos, Dorph and Porph, to enact their fantasies and survive the silence of incarceration. By turns very funny and moving, Airswimming reminds us of the forgotten women of these generations in both Britain and Ireland.

“IMPRESSIVELY ACTED… Airswimming, nicely directed by John Keating, is POIGNANT, INTELLIGENT AND AT TIMES WICKEDLY FUNNY.” — NY Times

“Intimate Airswimming is HEARTFELT AND ENDEARING….a small but sparkling gem…. John Keating directs the tricky material with great sensitivity” — Backstage

“A THOUGHTFUL DRAMA WORTH WRAPPING YOUR HEAD AROUND…” — Theatermania

“JOHN KEATING DIRECTS WITH CLARITY AND DEPTH, modulating the abrupt shifts from comedy to pathos skillfully. MOLONEY SHOWS A HEARTBREAKING VULNERABILITY under the martial swagger. PICKUP BEAUTIFULLY MATCHES HER. Her Persephone appeals to the heart… Airswimming is the story of two women who find their only solace and hope is in one another. It’s not about women at all: it’s about everyone.” — Irish Examiner

“Director John Keating has created a remarkably sensitive ambience, with Moloney, with her curt masculinity, and Pickup, the picture of femininity and vulnerability, appearing ideal for their roles. ONE COULD NOT IMAGINE BETTER.” — Epoch Times

“Jones has written A GRIM, YET FUNNY, AND OFT-STUNNING SMALL PLAY, directed in this staging with great care by John Keating.” — History News Network

“…a humdinger of a vehicle for the two fine actors – AEDIN MOLONEY AND RACHEL PICKUP – who REMAIN AN EMPOWERING AND CONSTANT PRESENCE THROUGHOUT.” — CurtainUp