New York’s Irish Repertory Theatre launches an Theatre @ Home Winter Festival this week that gives you an opportunity to see nine different shows. The price? Free. Of course, if you can afford to donate, that would be greatly appreciated by the theatre.
The Theatre @ Home Winter Festival begins on Tuesday, January 26th and runs through March 7th.
Every show will be made available for four performances. These are the shows being offered (with a link built into each title so you can go directly to full details about the show and its performance schedule):
Molly Sweeney – January 26th, February 6th, 13th, 18th, 26th and March 2nd
Brian Friel’s play, first performed in 1994 in Dublin, tells the story of the title character who has been blind since birth. At the age of 41, she undergoes a procedure that allows her to see. Told in monologues by Molly, her husband, Frank and the surgeon, Mr. Rice, the play explores what, if anything, did Molly have to lose by undergoing the procedure.
Starring in Molly Sweeney are Geraldine Hughes, Paul O’Brien, and Ciarán O’Reilly. The production was directed by Charlotte Moore.
The show runs 2 hours 30 minutes including an intermission.
The performances take place on Tuesday, January 26 at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; Saturday, February 6th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST; Saturday, February 13th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST; Thursday, February 18th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; February 26th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST and March 2nd at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST.
Yes! Reflections of Molly Bloom – January 27th, February 2nd, 14th, 17th, 28th and March 3rd
Aedín Moloney stars is this one-woman show inspired by James Joyce’s novel Ulysses.
Set in Ireland in 1904, Molly struggles to find meaning in her life after her children are gone, her marriage has lost its luster and the affair she was having ran its course. She doesn’t fully know what she wants, but she knows this isn’t it. With a true Irish sense of both doom and humor, Molly follows an untraditional path to rediscovering who she is.
Moloney, who won the Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance, adapted the novel with Colum McCann. YES! features music from Paddy Moloney, best known for his band The Chieftains.
The show runs 1 hour 30 minutes without an intermission.
The performances take place Wednesday, January 27, at 3pm EST/12:00 PM PST; Tuesday, February 2, at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; Sunday, February 14th at 2:00 PM EST/11:00 PST and Wednesday, February 17th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST; February 28th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST and March 3rd at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST
The Weir – January 27th, February 6th, 10th, 19th, 28th and March 3rd
New York’s Irish Rep has had great success with Conor McPherson’s The Weir. Their 2013 production was nominated for Best Outstanding Revival at the Lucille Lortel Awards. The run of the show was so successful that they revived it again two years later. Now comes a version specifically designed for our pandemic age.
The play is set in a pub in Ireland. The bartender is sharing ghost stories with two regulars. They also discuss an imminent new arrival, a woman named Valerie who is renting a nearby house with the help of another former local, Finbar. Over the course of the play, with the men vying for her attention, the stories get more intense and some, deeply personal.
Dan Butler, Sean Gormley, John Keating, Tim Ruddy, and Amanda Quaid star in this new version directed by Ciarán O’Reilly – completed with all social distancing required to keep everyone safe. Critics have raved about how innovative this particular production is.
The performances take place Wednesday, January 27th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST; Saturday, February 6th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST; Wednesday, February 10th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST and Friday, February 19th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST; February 28th at 2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST and March 3rd at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST
The show runs 1 hour 50 minutes with no intermission.
Love, Noël – January 28th, February 3rd, 14th, 20th, 24th and March 4th
Barry Day, who has authored multiple books about playwright/composer/actor Noël Coward, created and wrote this two-person show about him. Coward wrote the plays Private Lives, Design for Living, Blithe Spirit and the musical Sail Away.
Steve Ross plays the piano and assumes the role of Coward in this two-character production that combines his letters and his music. KT Sullivan sings the songs and embodies many of the famous people, particularly Elaine Stritch and Marlene Dietrich, who made his songs come to life. The show was produced at Irish Rep in 2019.
The show runs 1 hour 15 minutes without an intermission.
The performances take place Thursday, January 28, at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; Wednesday, February 3rd at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST; Sunday, February 14th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST and Saturday, February 20th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST; February 24th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST and March 4th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST
Belfast Blues – January 29th, February 7th, 13th, 17th, 23rd and March 5th
Geraldine Hughes first performed Belfast Blues in New York in 2005. Her one-person show examines both the troubles in Northern Ireland and her own eyes which helps explain the show’s subtitle, One Wee Girl’s Story About Family, War, Jesus and Hollywood.
This show was filmed at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre. The stage production was directed by Carol Kane.
The show runs 1 hour and 15 minutes with no intermission.
The performances take place Thursday, January 28, at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; Wednesday, February 3rd at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST; Sunday, February 14th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; Saturday, February 20th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST; February 23rd at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST and March 5th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST
Give Me Your Hand – January 30th, February 7th, 10th, 21st, 24th and March 6th
Poetry and art are combined in Give Me Your Hand. Dermot Crowley and Dearbhla Molloy serve as docents for a tour of The National Gallery of London.
Poet Paul Durcan wrote the poetry used here after his own visit to the museum. Crowley then turned that poetry, combined with images of works of art, into this two-character piece that was first performed at Irish Rep in 2012.
This performance was filmed at London’s Coronet Theatre and was directed by Jamie Beamish.
The show runs 1 hour and 20 minutes with no intermission.
The performances take place Saturday, January 30, at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST; Sunday, February 7th at 2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST; Wednesday, February 10th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST; Sunday, February 21st at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; February 24th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST and March 6th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST
A Touch of the Poet – January 30th, February 4th, 12th, 16th, 27th and March 6th
Playwright Eugene O’Neill (Long Day’s Journey Into Night) wrote this play in 1942. But it was not performed until 1958, nearly five years after his death.
Irishman Cornelius Melody’s life hasn’t turned out the way he had hoped or planned. Whether because of circumstance or whiskey is unclear. Living at an inn with his wife and daughter, Melody is keenly aware of his shortcomings. Yet when a well-to-do young man takes an interest in his daughter, his reaction isn’t the one you’d expect. Melody keeps his wife and daughter in the precarious position of being punished for not believing his stories and also for not acknowledging their lack of credibility.
This online production, from 2020, stars Belle Aykroyd, Ciaran Byrne, Robert Cuccioli, Kate Forbes, Mary McCann, Andy Murray, David O’Hara, Tim Ruddy, David Sitler and John C. Vennema. It was directed by Ciarán O’Reilly.
The show runs 2 hours and 45 minutes with an intermission.
The performances take place Saturday, January 30, at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST; Thursday, February 4th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; Friday, February 12th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST; Tuesday, February 16th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; February 27th at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PSTS and March 6th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST
On Beckett/In Screen – January 31st, February 5th, 9th, 20th, 25th and March 7th
On Beckett/In Screen is an amazing show that combines the writing on Samuel Beckett with Bill Irwin’s impeccable ability to be a clown.
Samuel Beckett is the poet and playwright best known for Krapp’s Last Tape and Waiting for Godot. Irwin, in addition to his award-winning performance in Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, has appeared on Broadway in Full Moon.
In On Beckett/In Screen Irwin will performance excerpts from Godot plus The Unnamable and Texts for Nothing.
The Unnamable is the third in a trilogy of novels written by Beckett. It was published in 1953 and follows Molloy and Malone Dies (both of which were published in 1951). Texts for Nothing is series of thirteen untitled pieces of prose.
What Irwin does so brilliantly is to find not just the humor, but the emotion, in each of the Beckett pieces he performs.
On Beckett/In Screen was filmed at Irish Repertory Theatre. It was directed for film by M. Florian Staab and Bill Irwin.
The show runs 1 hour and 20 minutes with no intermission.
The performances take place Sunday, January 31, at 2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST; Friday, February 5th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST; Tuesday, February 9th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; Saturday, February 20th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST; February 25th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST and March 7th at 2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST
Meet Me In St. Louis – January 31st, February 2nd, 14th, 21st, 27th and March 7th
Vincente Minnelli’s 1944 film, Meet Me in St. Louis, serves as the inspiration for this musical adaptation by Hugh Martin (High Spirits), Ralph Blane (Best Foot Forward) and Hugh Wheeler (Sweeney Todd). The musical made its debut on Broadway in 1989.
Meet Me in St. Louis tells the story of the Smith family in 1903 and follows them through the seasons leading up to the opening of the World’s Fair in 1904.
In addition to the title song, the musical includes The Boy Next Door, The Trolley Song and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.
Irish Rep in New York has filmed a version of the musical that was adapted and directed by Charlotte Moore who appeared in the Broadway production. She’s assembled a terrific cast that includes Melissa Errico (Amour), Ali Ewoldt (Phantom of the Opera), Jay Aubrey Jones (Porgy and Bess) and Max von Essen (An American in Paris).
The show runs 1 hour and 45 minutes with a 10-minute intermission.
The performances take place Wednesday, January 27, at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST; Tuesday, February 2nd at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST; Sunday, February 14th at 2:00 PM EST/11:00 AM PST; Wednesday, February 17th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST; February 27th at 8:00 PM EST/5:00 PM PST and March 7th at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST
Main Photo: Aedín Moloney in Yes! Reflections of Molly Bloom (Photo by Carol Rosegg/Courtesy Irish Repertory Theatre)
Update: This post has been updated to reflect an extension of the festival through March 7th.