Buffalo Theater: Performances run through March 28

Name of Play: An Irish Play

Where will it be performed? American Repertory Theater of WNY

What are the performance dates? March 12-28, Thursday & Friday at 7:30 pm; Saturdays at 5 pm

Playwright: Dan O’Brien

Director: Matthew LaChiusa (who answered the subsequent questions).

Lead actors: “An Irish Play” features the return of ART/WNY alumni Trevor Dugan (as Edward Deevey), who received an Artie Nomination for Best Male Actor for his performance in the company’s award winning production, “The Informer,” and Brooke Goergen (as Cynthia Regan), who earned an Artie Nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance of John Snodgrass’ “Rust and Redemption.”

Other notable performers: Artie Award-nominated director and the region’s leading dialect coach Catherine Burkhart returns to ART/WNY stage in the role of Martha Connor. Also making a stage return is Buffalo theater veteran and Artie-nominated actor Michael Starzynski and two up-and-coming actors, Robert Humphrey (last seen in ART/WNY’s Breaksong by Mark Humphrey) and John DellaContrada (last seen in both “The Informer” by Matthew LaChiusa and “Shylock” by Lara Haberburger).

What makes this play special and why did you decide to do it? When presenting a stage adaptation of Liam O’Flaherty’s “The Informer,” a colleague joked about the irony of an Italian-American guy writing about Irish culture and an African-American who wrote about an old Polish lady for another ART/WNY production. I laughed at the irony as well, but also defended the right of any playwright to write about whatever story they wanted to. That prompted several questions, including if the subject of material, characters or historical stories are exclusive to a base, then in order to write about specific troupes, you need to be part of that base. If yes, then writing characters is based on association and not imagination? Does this lead to limitations on our imagination to write on the only things we know? And who we are? 

Kinda defeats the purpose of creating art. Or theater for that matter. 

So going into selection of works for the 2025-26 season: I had this in the back of my mind. I set out to try and find a play that spoke about this point/counterpoint of discussion.  Couldn’t find anything. Then as I was looking for a work to fill the March 2026 slot, I wanted to do an Irish heritage-centered work. I typed in “Irish Play,” only to get an AI description of what exactly an Irish play’s narrative included. 

No thank you. 

I thought perhaps I could narrow down the search by typing in “A play about being Irish.” The Google result listed this 2001 work by Dan O’Brien called “An Irish Play.” I looked at the description of the play: an amateur theater company in Cork, Ireland; themes of identity and cultural representation; an African-American cast in a lead role of a Viking assassin in 941 A.D.; theater family dysfunction. 

Oh, hell yeah, I was sold. I went and order a script immediately. 

When I finished reading the script, I put it down, sighed and said to myself, “This is exactly what I have been trying to say.” I knew ART/WNY had to do it. And although it may ruffle a few feathers, this is a perfect theater narrative for our times. Not because it is full of complex Irish political intrigue. Not because the characters are Disneyfied cartoon renderings of drunk Irish men smashing skulls in Connemara. Not because we see St Patrick, a leprechaun and Michael Collins dancin’ o’ reel. Because this play is about the real-life discussions people are having throughout the world: cultural identity; immigration issues; the importance of arts to communities; mental illness; community breakdown. The topics that are now seemingly taboo to write about directly, but through the discourse of natural conversation — built brilliantly by Dan O’Brien — finds themselves in this narrative. 

What sets this production of the play apart from others that have been done? No two plays are alike. The difference between this one and the other productions I have directed is the degree of camaraderie found with this cast compared to others. And even that margin is very narrow. If one is comparing the narrative to other productions ART/WNY has staged, then “An Irish Play” is rooted in the honesty of characters presented in the narrative. This a real play about real people and this cast is embracing the honesty found within O’Brien’s narrative.

Is there anything else the audience should know? Audiences should expect to hear graphic language, topic of suicide; see scenes of violence; alcoholism and herbal-based cigarette smoking on set. Pithy observations. Basically most triggers found in most Irish playwrights’ works.

The show website?http://www.artofwny.org

Tickets: HERE.