Irish Repertory Theatre

Irish Drama.
New York Style.

2016-2017 Season

Woody Sez: The Life & Music of Woody Guthrie

devised by David M. Lutken with Nick Corley and
Darcie Deaville, Helen Jean Russell & Andy Teirstein
directed by Nick Corley
music direction: David M. Lutken

Extended through September 10, 2017

Buy tickets now!

Woody Sez is a joyous, toe-tapping, musical portrait, rich with the words and songs of America’s great troubadour, which transports the audience through the fascinating, beautiful, and sometimes tragic life of Woody Guthrie. With songs like “This Land is Your Land” and “So Long It’s Been Good To Know Yuh” a talented group of four actor/musicians bring to life the many people who formed the fabric of his story. Not only was Woody a seminal influence on Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, he also inspired generations of Irish folk singers like the Clancy Brothers and Christy Moore.  His songs may have told the stories of the disenfranchised in the Dust Bowl, but his recurrent themes speak of famine, workers’ rights and emigrant strife. His legacy defined an American era of social consciousness and political expression that is alive and palpable today.

“The songs and high spirits come in a bracing torrent…the exhilarating Woody Sez, [is]a fine balm for a summer’s night.” -The New York Times

“★★★★  “An American epic… Like the songs themselves, everything about the show has the ring of truth” –Time Out

“Outstanding… it’s superb… a politically invigorating and inventive reflection on Guthrie’s life and times” -The New Yorker

For more information on the life and legacy of Woody Guthrie, visit WoodyGuthrie.org

The Aran Islands

W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre, presented in association with Co-Motion Media

by J.M. Synge
adapted & directed by Joe O’Byrne
starring Brendan Conroy

June 15 –  August 6, 2017

Buy Tickets Now

The Aran Islands is a compelling adaptation by Joe O’Byrne of John Millington Synge’s classic work. In 1898, upon the advice of W.B. Yeats, Synge went to live among the islanders to “express a life that has never found expression.’’ In this grey, sea-battered landscape, full of mist and wild rain,  hearth is home and storytellers regale with tales by the fire;  here Synge found inspiration for many later works including The Playboy of the Western World and Riders to the Sea.  Brendan Conroy, one of Ireland’s finest actors, captures the spirit of Synge and of this bleakly primitive, mystical land on the West Coast of Europe. In the great history of Irish storytelling, The Aran Islands is a haunting and transporting experience built around an incredible performance.

“a hypnotic performance… Conroy beautifully captures the islanders as he takes us on an intimate journey. For those 100 minutes, you feel transported back in time.” –Huffington Post

★★★★★ “A visceral and memorable portrait” -BlogCritics

“a pleasure… Conroy slides in and out of the voices and physical characterizations of the storytellers and their subjects with understated style and panache.” –Talkin’ Broadway

Support for this production is provided by Culture Ireland.

Creative Team:

set design: Margaret Nolan
costumes: Marie Tierney
lighting design: Joe O’Byrne
original music: Kieran Duddy
stage manager: Michael Palmer

Rebel In The Soul

in the W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre

by Larry Kirwan
directed by Charlotte Moore

April 12- May 21, 2017

Buy tickets now

Dr. Noel Browne was elected to the Irish Parliament in the general election of 1948. Handsome, intense, arrogant, and unpredictable, he was only 33 years of age, with few political skills but a burning ambition to rid Ireland of the scourge of tuberculosis which had wiped out most of his family. Upon the introduction of his “Mother & Child Scheme”—a plan to provide free postnatal care to women and children under the age of 16—he quickly found himself at odds with the “Man of Destiny,” party leader and ex-Irish Republican Army chief, Sean McBride, and the ruthless, obsessive tactician, Archbishop of Dublin, Dr. John Charles McQuaid.

Larry Kirwan’s Rebel in the Soul closely examines the maneuvering of these three charismatic people and the ensuing crisis that brought down the government and changed Irish life forever.

“A politically-charged drama that’s both informative and compelling…. Rebel in the Soul is your chance to experience some of the most formidable characters in Irish history up close and personal in Irish Repertory Theatre’s cozy atmosphere.” –Stage Buddy

“looks into the shadowlands of Irish history… a triple-decker drama” -CurtainUp

“the show is superb and the cast is just great…You’ll enjoy every moment” –Irish Examiner

“consistently gripping” –Broadway Blog

“I urge everyone to see this splendid play” -Black Tie Magazine

The Emperor Jones

by Eugene O’Neill
directed by Ciarán O’Reilly

starring Obi Abili

March 1 – April 23, 2017

Buy Tickets Now!

Eugene O’Neill’s groundbreaking play The Emperor Jones is the story of Brutus Jones, a despot who ascends the throne using lies, intimidation and the politics of fear. Following a prison break in the United States, Jones sets himself up as monarch of a Caribbean island. When the Natives rebel after years of exploitation, Jones’s mesmerizing journey into darkness becomes a terrifying psychological portrayal of power, fear, and madness. With his demons in heavy pursuit, the Emperor is forced to confront not just the mortal sins of his past but also the depravities against his ancestors, — all in search of forgiveness and salvation.

“gorgeous, astonishing… both ferocious and blindsidingly affecting. At its center a performance of such assured intelligence that there’s no possibility of condescension… absolutely flaying. Boundary-pushing in its day, the play still has plenty to say — about tyranny and greed and corruption, sure, but more potently about our culture’s long history of race-based violence and degradation. – New York Times

“an unavoidably important American drama that retains the power to spellbind and unnerve. Obi Abili, in the supremely challenging role of Brutus Jones, rules the show with a ruthless charm and retains a crucial psychological authenticity.” -The New Yorker

“A breathtaking experience for the senses… This timely staging also boasts a roster of fine actors, notably Obi Abili, who plays the Emperor Jones with terrifying fury and heartrending pathos in a nightmarish and hauntingly beautiful production. The racial and political anxieties that The Emperor Jones explores are ripe for renewed discussion in our time.” –TheaterMania

Crackskull Row

in the W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre

The Irish Repertory Theatre presents
the cell’s (Nancy Manocherian, Founding Artistic Director) production

by Honor Molloy
directed by Kira Simring

February 3 – March 26, 2017

Buy Tickets Now

Rasher Moorigan has a secret that only his mother knows. Tonight  – for the first time in over thirty years – mother and son spend May Eve together in a wreck of a house down the backlanes of Dublin. Melding reality and myth, Crackskull Row is the story of an Irish family’s desperate actions and forbidden loves, “exploring rage, dissolution, sexual perversity and family history with a bleak and penetrating acuity.”

Critics’ Pick: “Richly satisfying… It is Ms. Molloy’s salty, slangy yet singsong dialogue that most resonates. Conor McPherson & Martin McDonagh might have to set another place at their table.” -The New York Times

“Molloy’s writing is deft… Crackskull is gorgeous.” -Time Out

“Intensely literate and fun to hear (especially when recited by this superb cast).” -TheaterMania

the cell’s production of Crackskull Row was first presented at Origin’s 1st Irish Theatre Festival 2016 where it received the Best Production award

Creative Team:
Scenic Design: Daniel Geggatt
Costume Design: Siena Zoe Allen
Lighting Design: Gertjan Houben
Original Music & Sound Design: M. Florian Staab
Props: Samantha Keogh
Fight Choreography: Unkcle Dave’s Fight House
Stage Manager: Chris Steckel
ASM: Kayla Santos
Photography: Michael Bonasio

The Dead, 1904

Dot Dot Productions in association with the American Irish Historical Society
presents The Irish Repertory Theatre’s production

Gather with James Joyce’s immortal characters in 1904 Dublin for a captivating evening of music, food and epiphany.

based on the novella by James Joyce
adapted by Paul Muldoon & Jean Hanff Korelitz
directed by Ciarán O’Reilly

November 19- January 7, 2017

Buy Tickets Now

The evening takes place at:
The American Irish Historical Society
991 Fifth Avenue New York, NY
Directly across Fifth Avenue from the Metropolitan Museum of Art

James Joyce’s novella, “The Dead,” describes a holiday gathering on January 6,1904, the Feast of the Epiphany, in the Dublin home of two elderly sisters, Kate and Julia Morkan, and their niece, Mary Jane. At the party are students, friends, a celebrated tenor, a lost alcoholic, and the couple, Gabriel and Gretta Conroy. Over the course of an evening, there are conversations, music, dancing and dining. There are speeches and disagreements – polite and impolite – and when it is all over Gabriel learns something about his wife that changes his sense of who she is and who they are to each other, of what it actually means to be alive, and to be dead.

“an unusually sparkling affair… you are not likely to attend a holiday gathering in a more sumptuous setting this season. –The New York Times

“combines the fun and spontaneity of immersive theater with tender and nuanced acting from an accomplished cast.” –AM New York

“a holiday treat, full of songs and high spirits” –The New Yorker

The Dead,1904 is a new adaptation in which an audience of 40 guests will themselves attend the Misses Morkan’s holiday party, move from room to room with the actors, listen to the music, watch the dances, dine on a meal inspired by the menu in the novella, and observe the characters in their interactions.  The production will take place in an authentic Victorian mansion, perfectly evoking the atmosphere of the story.

At each performance, premium ticket holders will be seated with the actors, to truly experience the famous dinner scene from within. Special New Year’s Eve and Feast of the Epiphany performances will provide an extraordinary special observance of these holidays.

This exquisite theatrical recreation of James Joyce’s haunting story  is likely to be one of the most sought after theater events of New York’s 2016 holiday season.

The menu for the evening is available here.

For questions regarding venue accessibility, please call The American Irish Historical Society at 212-288-2263 prior to purchasing your ticket.

Ticket Lottery:

A minimum of 70 tickets to The Dead, 1904 will be made available throughout the run of the show for $19.04 through a daily lottery with TodayTix. Lottery winners will be given VIP seats at the main table along side the cast. Click here to download the TodayTix app and get ready to enter.

Northern Ireland BureauSponsorship provided by the Northern Ireland Bureau, British Council Northern Ireland and Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

Cart

View Cart

Login to your account