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.

The post Irish Rep’s Theatre @ Home Winter Festival – EXTENDED appeared first on Cultural Attaché.

The music of George Gershwin is at the core of this movie. Gene Kelly (who also directed significant portions of the movie and choreographed the film including the stunning ballet sequence (which truly showcases both his genius as a choreographer and Gershwin’s gorgeous music.)  An American in Paris is one of the best arguments for seeing films on a big screen.

In the film Jerry Mulligan (Kelly) plays an American painter try to make a go of it in Paris. So too is his friend, Adam (Oscar Levant), a struggling pianist. A woman (Nina Foch) takes Mulligan under her wing to support him, but she is ultimately in love with him and has more than being a patron of the arts on her mind. Mulligan falls in love with Lise (Leslie Caron), a French girl he  meets at a restaurant. Unfortunately she is in a relationship with Henri (Georges Guétary) who is good friends with Adam. Who will ultimately be in love with whom? And can’t somebody love Oscar Levant?

An American in Paris makes very wise use of Gershwin’s music, both his classical repertoire (as in the piece that gives this film its title and one movement of his Concerto in F) and the songs written with his brother Ira including Our Love Is Here to Stay, I Got Rhythm and I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise.

Brett Mitchell leads the LA Philharmonic.

Of additional interest:  Patricia Kelly, Gene’s widow, recently launched in Europe a new live show called Gene Kelly: A Life In  Music. To hear music from many of his film performed live by a symphony orchestra, mixed with stories only she can tell, would be a treat for all fans of his, classic musicals and great music. Who knows, maybe that will be on the program next year at the Bowl? That would be ‘s wonderful and ‘s marvelous.

For tickets go here.

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July 10th: Tony Bennett

Does anything else really need to be said beyond his name? Less than one month prior to his 93rd birthday, this legendary singer returns to the Hollywood Bowl for another evening of standards interpreted like no other.

There are certain performers who cannot imagine not performing – regardless of age. Amongst them are Chita Rivera, Ben Vereen, Angela Lansbury and Tony Bennett. For Bennett he just keeps singing – and aren’t we all the better for it?

Though he left his heart in San Francisco, he finds his home every couple years at the Hollywood Bowl. If you’ve never seen and heard Bennett – and even if you have – this is a concert you don’t want to miss.

July 12th & 13th: Cécile McLorin Salvant

If you look at the schedule for the Hollywood Bowl, this concert is listed as Cyndi Lauper with Orchestra. Not exactly jazz. Look at the second billing and you’ll see why this concert is listed amongst your best bets: Cécile McLorin Salvant returns to the Hollywood Bowl as an opening act. (She previously opened for Bryan Ferry in 2017.)

If you read Cultural Attaché on a regular basis, you know how much I am a fan of Salvant and her singing. She takes songs you know and turns each one into a master class of interpretation.  She is a three-time Grammy Award winner with her most recent win coming earlier this year when she was awarded Best Jazz Vocal Album for The Window.

Salvant will be joined by the Aaron Diehl Trio. You might recall we spoke with this talented pianist when he performed earlier this season with the LA Philharmonic. He told us then about Salvant:

“She’s a special artist because what she does that most people can’t do is make connections. And not just between Duke Ellington and say Herbie Hancock, but connections between art and human relations to that art and culture. She points things out – anything you can think about – she can make all kinds of associations. That’s so rare. That’s another level of artistry.”

When Lauper takes the stage she will be joined by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra under the direction of Thomas Wilkins.

August 14th: Ivan Lins and Friends: A Journey to Brazil

This evening will be an all-Brazil evening with two different ensembles taking the stage.

Opening the evening will be Lee Ritenour’s World of Brazil. Joining the Grammy Award-winning guitarist (who has long celebrated the music of Brazil) will be composer and pianist Dave Grusin, vocalist Luciana Souza, percussionist Paulinho Da Costa, harmonica stylist Gregoire Maret and guitarist/composer Chico Pinheiro.  That’s a very impressive line-up for an opening act.

The headliner of this concert is the Ivan Lins Quartet. Lins, who was born in Rio de Janeiro, is a master of Brazilian music. He’s a songwriter whose songs have been performed by such artists as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Barbra Streisand, Sting and Michael Bublé. He’s also written music for Brazilian films and soap operas.

Lins will not only perform with his quartet, but also with his big band which will be conducted by John Beasley.

For this concert he will also be joined by special guests singer Dianne Reeves, four-person vocal ensemble New York Voices and guitarist Romero Lubambo.

August 21st: Herbie Hancock: Next Generation R+R=NOW

For those who like their jazz with more edge, this concert is for you. Herbie Hancock, who truly needs no introduction, has always been on the forefront of jazz. He’s also been a keen shepherd to those who have come, and are coming up, behind him.

This past January he celebrated the Edge of Jazz at Walt Disney Concert Hall with world premieres of works by Hitomi Oba, Vijay Iyer, Billy Childs, Kamasi Washington, Tyshawn Sorey and Hermeto Pascoal.

At this concert you will get to hear Hancock play some of his best known and most inventive compositions. But remember, he’s there as a mentor. So joining him for this Next Generation concert will be some very talented artists.

R+R=Now is a Blue Note Records ensemble that was put together by Robert Glasper. Glasper will be on keys with Terrace Martin on synthesizer and vocoder, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah on trumpet, Derrick Hodge on bass, Taylor McFerrin on synth and beatbox and Justin Tyson on drums.

Joining the concert is Noname, a poet, rapper and producer from Chicago. Earlier this year she released her new record, Room 25. Also from Chicago and on the bill is vocalist, producer, instrumentalist Phoelix. He’s collaborated with Noname and also Saba and Smino. In 2018 he released his second record, Tempo. A new song, BBS, was released in May.

September 12th: An American in Paris

This isn’t truly a jazz concert. Honestly it falls into the category of live music performed to a screening of the Academy Award-winning Best Picture of 1951. The Los Angeles Philharmonic will be playing the glorious George Gershwin music under the direction of Brett Mitchell.

George Gershwin always straddled the line between jazz and classical music. An American in Paris is most commonly found, as are his other major compositions like Rhapsody in Blue, in the concert hall. But Gershwin’s roots were always in jazz. An American in Paris is no exception.

And unlike films today, this Vincente Minnelli classic lets the music live front and center. From the classic songs performed throughout the film to Oscar Levant’s ego-nightmare brilliantly set to Gershwin’s Concerto in F to the staggeringly beautiful ballet choreographed and directed by Gene Kelly – this is a movie that knew where to put the emphasis.

The only other concert likely to include Gershwin this season will be Tony Bennett. Which brings us full circle.

For tickets to these concerts, go here.

Main photograph: Tony Bennett.  Unless otherwise noted, all photographs courtesy of the LA Philharmonic Association.

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