By Paddy McCarthy
I am sure that we are all happy that summer is finally here so gather your buckets and shovels and off to the beach yahoo. I get great pleasure in telling you all this as I have to admit we had a couple of bad years behind us as you all know? I am not going to mention it because you all know why we were on lockdown with this deadly pandemic, did I say I was not going to mention it, well I did not. Now, back to the beach as the doors are open all round for everything that you need going to the beach or the waterfront towns with plenty of restaurants open and for kids especially now it’s their time, so buckle up as it’s make-up time. If the kids are happy everybody is happy and once you have the sunshine what more do you need, just a little bit of laughter. One great thing I did take notice was that the festivals are back in all their glory and that’s a great sign as well so now we can party party, ahh I love it. Forgive me because I seem to be going round and round, I am because I am so excited that summer is here and I like to have a swim, is that alright? Nah, I’ll never grow up as the summer is for happy times and that is what I look forward to and a trip to Ireland every now and then, I had to get that in.
Here is an event that is well worth checking out and you have plenty of time to make up your mind to go and that is the 7th Annual Detective Barney Ferguson Emerald Legacy Fund “10-13”/”May Day” Awards Dinner that will take place on Thursday, August 25, at Juliano’s Restaurant (700 Main Street in New Rochelle). The Emerald Legacy Fund’s goal is to assist the families of injured and deceased law enforcement/fire/military members or members whose families are otherwise in need. If you need further information, please contact James Ferguson at (914) 714-0249.
The next Irish Rep mainstage show is the world premiere of a new musical, The Butcher Boy. Adapted by Asher Muldoon from the novel by Patrick McCabe, The Butcher Boy follows the story of Francie Brady, an easy-going young woolgatherer living a hard life in a small Irish town in the 1960s. When a newcomer denounces his family as a bunch of pigs, Francie develops a violent fixation with the animal, which deepens as his life begins to spiral out of control.
The show is directed by Ciaran O’Reilly and begins previews on July 21, and opens on August 1.
The Butcher Boy is the first original musical in eight years to be developed by The Irish Rep. Asher, who wrote the book, music and lyrics, first approached the company with his adaptation in 2017, and in 2018, they mounted a workshop followed by a very well-received concert performance. Asher is a veteran of the Dear Evan Hansen National Tour and will graduate from Princeton next year.
The Irish Rep also presents a brand-new production of Yes! Reflections of Molly Bloom, adapted for the stage by Aedín Moloney (The Dead, 1904) and Colum McCann (Let the Great World Spin), with a limited run through July 17 on the W. Scott McLucas Studio Stage and features new direction by John Keating, new additional music by Paddy Moloney, and an updated design.
A beautiful and honest reflection of Molly’s life, written by James Joyce, Aedín Moloney’s one woman performance is a tribute to the enduring mysteries of loss and love – and the affirmation found, yes, in between. It also considers, as Joyce does, a time in which a woman’s life and choices in Dublin were shaped more fully by a man.
After its world premiere at Irish Rep in the summer of 2019, Yes! Reflections of Molly Bloom was produced for Irish Rep Online during the COVID-19 shutdown as a Performance on Screen. After reading Ulysses as a young girl, Aedín Moloney spent close to 30 years developing and shaping her interpretation of James Joyce’s Penelope chapter. In 2003, renowned author and fellow Joyce enthusiast, Colum McCann, invited her to perform passages from the soliloquy at his annual Bloomsday celebration.
With McCann’s encouragement, Moloney recorded Reflections of Molly Bloom in 2017, an audio recording of the unabridged text, accompanied with music by Paddy Moloney.
Tickets for all the shows are available at IrishRep.org.
Hope to see you all again next week when I am Out&About.