The Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage
By Elaine Murphy
Directed by Marc Atkinson Borrull
Starring Brenda Meaney, Lauren O’Leary, and Marsha Mason
“a warm slice-of-life tale” – The New York Times
★★★★ “Murphy weaves everyday stories together with deceptive skill.” – Financial Times
“an altogether winning revival…the writing is wonderful full of incident, comedy, drama and emotion” – The New Yorker
Just Extended through September 8, 2019!
One year can bring extraordinary change; just ask Amber, Lorraine and Kay, three generations of North Dublin women who find themselves suddenly facing the unexpected. Young Amber’s case of indigestion – or perhaps it’s a brutal hangover? – grows into something more, while her mother Lorraine discovers salsa dancing after an incident at work leads to therapist-suggested self-care. Grandmother Kay, “on the wrong side of sixty, but not dead yet,” struggles to take care of a personal itch while adjusting to life as a caretaker for her beloved Gem. As the year moves forward, the women confront their individual challenges with courage and humor, finding strength in one another and discovering the beauty and complexity of family.
Hilarious and poignant, Irish playwright Elaine Murphy’s debut play, Little Gem, premiered at the Dublin Fringe Festival in 2008 where it won the Fishamble New Writing Award. It then transferred to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it won the Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award, the festival’s top prize. Little Gem made its acclaimed US premiere in January of 2010 at the Flea Theater.
“an altogether winning revival…the writing is wonderful full of incident, comedy, drama and emotion” – The New Yorker
★★★★ “Murphy weaves everyday stories together with deceptive skill.” – Financial Times
“a solid new production… human dramas… rendered delicately, empathetically, and perceptively.” – Theatermania
“you will have to control your laughter… and then hold back your tears…eminently touching…The title of the play may be a spoiler alert.”- CurtainUp
“Marsha Mason, Brenda Meaney, and Lauren O’Leary are absolutely top-notch fantastic…an ebullient, emotive experience in the theatre.” – One Magazine
“Absolute Gem! Irish Rep’s Little Gem delights.” – IrishCentral / Irish Voice
★★★★ “Little Gem is modest in scale but proves to be generous with feelings… an engaging play that lives up to its title.” – Michael Sommers, New York Stage Review
★★★★ “a delight” – David Finkle, New York Stage Review
★★★★ “Mason is delightful, seamlessly combining humor and wisdom…it is excellent theatre, with moving performances and that particular brand of Irish humor that leavens life’s miseries with an appreciation of irony that has kept that sturdy little nation going through thick and thin. – New York Theatre Guide
“It’s perfect in its Irish-ness, filled to the brim with funny whip smart asides and sexual frankness that when delivered with that accent rings true and charming.” – Front Mezz Junkies
“all three portrayals are superb…another feather in the cap of the very vital Irish Repertory Theatre” – Wolf Entertainment Guide
“a fascinating and funny slice of life from Ireland in the early 21st century.” – Exeunt Magazine
“a small jewel in today’s rhinestone-studded theatrical landscape…consistently engaging, occasionally hilarious and sometimes heart wrenching.” – Theater News Online
Support for this production is provided by Culture Ireland.