Porchlight Warms With Musical Irish History Romp

There’s at least another month before Chicago loses its mind and sobriety, dyes the river green and everyone becomes honorarily Irish, but the Frank McCourt gem The Irish… And how they got that way now on onstage at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts  will make everyone in the audience appreciate Irish American history and culture and hope they can trace their roots back to the Emerald Isle just like Barack Obama.  

Originally premiered in 1997 at the Irish Rep theatre where teacher and author Frank McCourt had acted, the show uses historical and scenic photo projections and letters and songs to spin the story of how Ireland and America have intertwined histories.I learned about how the Irish were seminal in developing the labor movement, and how so many US Presidents have directly traceable Irish roots. 

The exceptionally talented cast of six directed by David Girolmo take us from the Rose of Tralee to Yankee Doodle to I Still Haven’t Found What I Am Looking For, often in 4 part harmony.  There’s enough dancing to qualify as an on stage céili. Fiddler Elleon Dobias has supersonic speed that will have you wanting to leap into the aisles and jig. Pianist, singer and music director David Fiorello who also did additional music arrangements deserves a lot of credit for making this production as good as any musical event in a city that is picky about its Irish music. 

The show does not shy away from the uncomfortable: there are graphic descriptions of the potato famine which killed about a quarter of the population and caused millions to become refugees especially to America where in a mirror of our own times they were discriminated against, beaten and “othered” in outright racism. McCourt himself was an anchor baby– his parents had immigrated to New York and went back to Limerick where he was raised, before he returned to New York at age 19.    It is interesting to contemplate just when the Irish became beloved and white, from the origins of being the “ dirty criminal Irish”. There is a frank acknowledgement of alcoholism as a cultural trait, and a disease that the McCourt family was all too familiar with. 

The play notes that the Irish are song makers and dreamers and McCourt was a wordsmith of rare quality winning a Pulitzer with his memoir Angela’s Ashes which came out a year before this play. He was an educator too and this show is the most delightful cultural lesson I have been to all season.  The language in the show is poetic, and combined with music that makes you want to dance out of your seat the entire evening becomes meaningful and entertaining as well as educational.

So pre-game St. Patrick’s day and head to the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn in Chicago, Thursdays through Sundays until March 15, 3026 to learn and celebrate The Irish.. And How They Got That Way.  For tickets and further information go to  https://porchlightmusictheatre.org/the-irish/

 For more reviews go to https://www.theatreinchicago.com