By Sheila Barth
BOX INFO: Greater Boston Stage Company adds a wee bit o’ green and Irish charm in Pulitzer Prize winner Frank McCourt’s play, directed by Dawn Simmons, through March 25: Wednesdays, Sundays,2 p.m.; Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.; Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 3,8 p.m. $50-$60; seniors, $45-$55; students with valid ID, $20. 395 Main St., Stoneham. 781-279-2200, greaterbostonstage.org.
’Twas an Irish song and story fest when I saw Mynnelou Productions Inc. and the Bernann Company, LLC’s rollicking production of Frank McCourt’s “The Irish and How They Got That Way,” five years ago, in Somerville.
That production was so successful, it was extended for another week, by popular demand. The upbeat, two-hour, two-act, potpourri of Irish traditional, folk and contemporary songs and music accompanying the ensemble’s re-telling of Ireland and Irish-American history through their energetic comic anecdotes and skits, made Irish and non-Irish eyes smile at Davis Square Theater.
Currently, at the Greater Boston Stage Company’s production in Stoneham, the six-member, versatile, multi-talented ensemble shares that same love of all things Irish, on designer Shelley Barish’s attractive, homey, two-tiered folksy set. It’s a celebration like the traditional Irish kitchen party, surrounded by friends and family.“We are the music makers, and the dreamer of dreams,” they exclaim.”There are two kinds of people- the Irish and the others.”
Stoneham’s talented group of Boston performers, composed of Music Director Kirsten Salpini, William Gardiner, Nile Hawver, Michael Levesque, Nicole Vander Laan and Stoneham favorite Ceit Zweil, emanate Irish warmth, charm and fun with their infectious camaraderie.
Each actor provides his/her own music accompaniment, playing several instruments, from traditional Irish to folksy, homemade instruments, including a washboard, jug, penny whistle, and cow bell. They even bang out rhythm on wooden crates.
In the first act, highlighting tough times in Ireland and the Irish migration to America, their hopes are high in song “Shores of Amerikay,” where starving Irishmen, convinced the streets were paved with gold, hoped to make their fortune here. They quickly learned they weren’t welcome, in song “No Irish Need Apply”. Women took in laundry to feed their families, chronicled in song, “The Irish Washerwoman”.
But the resilient Irish kept their hopes aloft and quipped one-liners, which William Gardiner shares heartily, with a nod of his head, slap to his knee, and twinkle in his eye.
Early Irish immigrants became nostalgic, homesick, singing about their beloved “Skibereen,” and lamenting the Great Famine in song, “The Fields of Athenry”. Meanwhile, their loved ones wished they’d return, singing, “Come Home, Paddy Reilly,”.
They explain the potato blight wasn’t really a famine; folks starved for other reasons. They also celebrate Irish bravery as men fought for Britain and America. Their sadness, loss, struggles for independence against British rule outlined here, contrast the Irish love of drink, irrepressible spirit and love of country.
The second act opens with a rip-roaring, rollicking vaudeville medley, then traces Irishmen’s contributions to America, starting with railroad workers forming the first unions, working on the “Erie Canal,” and the Molly Maguires, in song, “The Ghost of Molly Maguire”. While fighting in the Civil War, Irish soldiers embattled on both sides of the river broke into song one night, harmoniously singing, “Ireland Boys, Hurray!”‘Yknow, you can’t have an Irish celebration without an Irish wake. Sure enough, there’s a rowdy, comical one here, in song “Finnegan’s Wake”. And Kirsten Salpini delivers a touching rendition of traditional tear-jerker, “Danny Boy”.
George M. Cohan brought the Irish to Broadway in “Give My Regards to Broadway,” while he and star Jimmy Cagney raised American patriotism during World War II with songs like “You’re a Grand Old Flag”.They spout long lists of famous Irish-Americans and politicians – Daniel Patrick Moynihan among many others – close with a rousing tribute to John Fitzgerald Kennedy, in poignant song, “Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye,” and an encore.
Aye, ’tis a bit o’ Irish magic, sure to bring a smile to the eyes, a lift to the heart and spirit, and a beat to the feet.
