I was talking to you last week about the bar and restaurant business in New York and how tough it is with the Coronavirus pandemic. Look, this can be a very serious sickness and can cause death if not treated very quickly, but some of the bars and restaurants are not heeding it. You know who you are and you are doing your patrons an injustice and also you are not helping yourself so please stop. I know again you want to get going, but again, you have to be patient as you can see the numbers are coming down. If I know who you are the Government do to because they are watching and it is not right what you are doing and you have to stick by the rules and be safe.
I am now going to tell you something that is more upbeat especially with both the coronavirus and the protests that are happening all over the United States of America which is again is so sad in this present day.
I hope you did not miss the Bloomsday celebrations and George Heslin, Artistic Director of Origin Theatre Company, is a wiz in what he does in promoting Irish theater and culture here in America with the Origin 1st Irish Festival. Yes, we all know he is from Limerick in Ireland and we are so lucky that he decided to emigrate to New York with the talents that he has got.
Now to let you know what he is doing and that is the 7th Annual Bloomsday Breakfast co-created by Origin Theatre and Bloom’s Tavern and featured a trans-Atlantic who’s who of actors and singers who made special appearances. A colorful bouquet of singers, actors and luminaries from New York and the Island of Ireland took part in a uniquely trans-Atlantic online version of Origin Theatre’s annual immersive Bloomsday Breakfast, co-hosted with Bloom’s Tavern in Midtown Manhattan. This special edition of New York’s only site-specific Bloomsday breakfast mixed readings from “Ulysses,” musical interludes, and special messages about the enduring meaning of Joyce’s masterwork and of cities like Dublin and New York going back more than a century.
The hour-long show, featuring staged and remotely accessed online pre-recorded appearances and performances, aired on Tuesday at www.origintheatre.org, and www.facebook.com/origintheatrecompany.
Appearing in this unique production were: the actors Una Clancy; Gina Costigan; Terry Donnelly; Rosemary Fine; Sean Gormley; Kate Kennon; Jo Kinsella; Malachy McCourt; Brenda Meaney; Mick Mellamphy; Paula Nance; Aidan Redmond; Colin Ryan; Daniel Shea; Sarah Street; Fiona Walsh, the writers: Colin Broderick; Colum McCann; and Sadhbh Walshe, and the singers/musicians: Gregory Harrington; David O’Leary; Niamh Hyland; Mary Courtney and Cathy Maguire.
Musical interludes were staged by the Irish folk-rock troubadour Alan Gogarty and the actor and singer Eoin Cannon.
Origin’s 7th Bloom @ Bloom’s Tavern commemorates the Dublin summer morning chronicled in James Joyce’s landmark novel “Ulysses,” which takes place in a single day, June 16, 1904. James Joyce first serialized “Ulysses” beginning in 1918. Considered a masterpiece of modernism, it was banned in the U.S. before the book was published in its entirety in France in 1922. Bloomsday observances around the world date back to 1924, five short years after the last world pandemic.
The Irish Repertory Theatre has shown the way that show goes on and that is with digital live shows that they are doing during the pandemic. All I can say it has been a great success and well beyond expectations. So here is another show that they present and I am sure you will enjoy it. Welcome to Meet the Makers – a digital series of conversations with scholars and Irish Rep artists offering a behind-the-scenes look at Irish history, theatre, and the creative process. New episodes are released every Thursday at 1pm. On Thursday June 18 they will be streaming Meet The Maker: Frank McCourt … And How He Got That Way, a conversation with Ellen McCourt and Mallachy McCourt.
In this production, the Irish Rep looks back on the life and work of the Pulitzer-Prize winning author of Angela’s Ashes and ‘Tis, the late Frank McCourt. McCourt was an Irish Repertory Theatre actor, playwright (The Irish…and How They Got That Way), and board member since the company’s founding.
In this special Meet the Makers episode, Ellen McCourt and Malachy McCourt, Frank McCourt’s widow and brother, respectively, remember Frank in advance of Irish Rep’s digital fundraiser, The Irish (Rep)…and How We Got That Way. You can follow all the shows that The Irish Rep will be performing on Twitter @IrishRepInstagram, www.facebook.com/IrishRep and www.youtube.com/IrishRep.
That it what I have for you this week and will see you all again WHEN I am Out&About…