I am so excited that I was in the company of Sarah Street, actress from Cork City in Ireland. I met her with Brad Balfour, our Arts and Entertainment and Editor who was preparing for an interview with her. She is now appearing on stage at The Irish Repertory Theatre in a very successful production of “Dublin Carol”, which is a huge hit. You can read the full interview in the Arts and Entertainment section of our website, just go to the home page.
Talking about theatre, I went to see Michael Melamphy, another great actor who is performing in “The Cure”, directed by Tim Ruddy at Arlene’s Grocery (95 Stanton Street) in New York City. The Pigeon Theatre Company is presenting this play which was written by award winning novelist and playwright Conal Creedon.
Our anti-hero, Sean Murphy, is three days on a “ran-tan”, drinking his Christmas bonus and wandering the streets of Ireland’s “Second City”, Cork. It is a city haunted by the ghosts of previous generations, which our narrator wrestles with, while simultaneously attempting to confront his present-day demons. He is in desperate need of a cure, but fate takes his feet another direction and he is faced with a cure of another kind…
“The Cure” was first performed at The Half Moon Theatre in Cork City in 2005 as part of Conal Creedon’s “Second City Trilogy” during the celebration of Cork City’s role as European Capital of Culture. It was first performed in New York City in 2013 at Origin Theatre Company’s Annual 1st Irish Theatre Festival for which Michael Mellamphy received a “Best Performance by a Male Actor” award. Michael Mellamphy (Sean MacGuire/Red Dead Redemption 2, Fluther Good/Irish Rep’s “O Casey Cycle”, Ivan Curry/Irish Rep’s “The Seafarer”) reprises his award-winning role.
Directed by Tim Ruddy (1st Irish 2010 Best Director, “After Luke & When I Was God”), this is a revival that should not be missed, so go and see this performance as you will not be disappointed. I went to see it myself on Monday and Michael Mellamphy was just brilliant! For tickets visit their website at thepigeontheatre.com.
When you’re Out&About please visit John Browne’s Grandstand Bar & Restaurant located on Grand Avenue in Maspeth that has a beautiful dining room and is a perfect place to bring your family, small or large, for a delicious dinner or drinks. Let me tell yea you will not be disappointed and this man is a legend here in New York.
I do not cover politics in my Out&About column but I have to talk about a very good friend of mine, Congressman Tom Suozzi who has been doing wonderful work for Long Island. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of traveling to Ireland with Tom and a group of prominent business men headed up by Dermot Kelly and Marty Glennon that was very successful. So here we go with the news: last week Tom met with Mothers Demand Action in his Huntington office. These dedicated volunteers are committed to fighting for commonsense and reasonable solutions to our country’s ongoing gun violence problems. Tom also co-sponsored every major common-sense gun reform legislation and he is proud that two of those bills have passed the House; background checks and the “Charleston loophole” legislation. He said that he was proud of his work with Mothers Demand Action but we need the Senate to act now. Lives depend on it. You can imagine how busy it’s been in DC as well. He also said that he recently proposed bipartisan legislation and testified in front of the House Transportation Committee to compel ride-sharing companies, like Uber and Lyft, to enact safety precautions. Good on yea Tom, keep up the good work.
Here is something that should interest you. The United Irish Counties 2019 Essay Contest is now open for entries. Students who are Seniors in High School and Freshman in College and who are sons, daughters, grandchild, niece or nephews of members in good standing of an organization affiliated with the UIC in 2019 are eligible to enter the contest. The High School essay is on “The Life & Legacy of Robert Emmet and the College essay is on “The Life & Work of Constance Markievicz”. All entries must be received no later than December 6th.
They will host entry forms and requirements on the Cork B.P.&P. website or you can reach out to Mae O’Driscoll at maeodriscoll@aol.com for information regarding the College essay or Kathleen Mattessich at kvmattessich@gmail.com for the High School essay.
There are some great bars and restaurants to visit but one sticks out and that is Stout on 41st Street between Park and Madison Avenues in New York City that I might say has very professional staff that headed up by the one and only Paul Brennan. So drop in for a nice pint of Guinness and let me tell you, it will be hard to beat; ah I love it!
See you all again next week when I am Out&About once more.