Frank McCourt's The Irish...And How They Got That Way Makes Kimmel Center Premiere March 5-29
FEBRUARY 12, 2009
The popular, uplifting musical celebration of all things Irish, The Irish...And How They Got That Way, will make its Kimmel Center premiere for a four-week engagement beginning March 5 through March 29, 2009 at the Kimmel Center's Innovation Studio. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and playwright Frank McCourt, the musical production is produced by Howard Perloff. The official press opening will be Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at 8pm.
Part of the Kimmel Center's Broadway Series, tickets at $47 are on sale now at the Kimmel Center box office, Broad & Spruce Sts., (open daily 10am to 6pm), by calling 215-731-3333, or online at www.kimmelcenter.org/broadway. Group discounts are available by calling 215-790-5883.
Performances include: Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm; Saturdays at 5pm and 8pm; Sundays at 3pm. Additional performances are scheduled for Tuesday, March 10 and Wednesday, March 11 at 8pm. Beginning the week of March 10, additional performances are scheduled for Tuesdays at 8pm and Wednesdays at 2pm and 8pm.
The Irish...And How They Got That Way tells the story of the Irish experience both on the Emerald Isle and here in America. Those who are familiar with the works of Frank McCourt will find his unique brand of irreverent humor throughout. It is a story told through the songs of Ireland, from such immortals as "Danny Boy" and "The Rose of Tralee" to the works of George M. Cohan and modern-day Irish rockers U2. The Irish... sheds new light on a people who live, laugh and love with as much passion as possible.
Playwright and author Frank McCourt was born in Brooklyn, NY and raised in Limerick, Ireland. He spent 27 years teaching in the New York City public school system before embarking on a writing career. After retiring from teaching, Frank and his brother performed their two-man show, A Couple of Blaguards, a musical review about their Irish youth. Frank's childhood memoir, Angela's Ashes, spent 117 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was the winner of the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Biography. He remains one of the most celebrated and beloved Irish-American authors of our time.
Directing The Irish...is Megan Nicole O'Brien, currently the Resident Director and co-founder of 11th Hour Theatre Company. She is a former directing fellow at the Philadelphia Theatre Company and has been involved in creating and teaching theatre education programming in Philadelphia for the past decade. Joining the creative team is Set Designer Adam Riggar (Mr. Bailey's Minder), Barrymore Award-winning Lighting Designer Shelley Hicklin (Of Mice and Men at Walnut Street Theatre), Costume Designer Mary Folino (Side by Side By Sondheim, The Dishwashers, The Mystery of Irma Vep) and Sound Designer Mark Valenzuela (11th Hour, The Arden, others).
The cast of The Irish... consists of five multi-talented performers handling performance, vocals and instrumentation—all with local ties. Led by Music Director Daniel Kazemi (Musical Director for 11th Hour's Tick...Tick...Boom! and Austentatous at 2007 Philly Fringe), the cast includes Bennett Dunn (Blood Brothers at Walnut Street), Sarah Gliko (Media Theatre's Joseph…), Jonathan Shade (HAIR at Prince Music Theatre), and Phoebe Silva (The Arden's Winesburg, Ohio).
During the 2009 Kimmel Center's Broadway Series, where theatrical presentations in Philadelphia are presented at the Academy of Music, productions will include: Happy Days – A New Musical (Mar. 24 – 29); Riverdance (Mar. 31 – Apr. 5); Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (April 7 – 12); Movin' Out (May 15 – 17); and Spring Awakening (June 23 – 28).
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