The Irish Voice

Review by Cahir O'Doherty

Decades before Wilde and Shaw revitalized English theater with

their Irish wit and wisdom, there was Dion Boucicault, a far less
celebrated but nonetheless prodigiously talented Irish dramatist
who had his first hit play with London Assurance in 1841, and
who then went on to write over 150 plays and travel to America.

Boucicault’s theatrical career took off in the mid 19th century

when he made the intelligent decision to pander shamelessly to
melodramatic tastes of that time. The Shaughraun is typical
Boucicault fare – and perhaps the only Irish play of the Victorian
era where an English soldier is the hero. If that doesn’t tip you off
to the fact that you’re watching a fairytale then nothing will.

There is a villain to hiss at, a beautiful damsel in distress, her

wrongly accused brother, an endearingly out of his depth English
soldier, a kindly priest who can never tell a lie, a scheming
informer and, of course, the handsome Shaughraun himself, a
sharp witted acrobat who loves whisky, women and poaching in
equal measure.

Boucicault almost single-handedly invented the tradition of the

charming but thoroughly unreliable stage Irishman as we now
know him — a broth of a boy with a song in his hear and a fiddle
by his side, a half lay-about, half Hermes. What other Irish play or
playwright of the 19th century would have dared to depict the
English Red Coat soldiers as a benign and welcome force?

As the play opens Captain Molineaux, pitch perfectly acted by

Kris Kling, is a kindly and dashing English soldier who impresses
all who encounter him. Hats are doffed, blessings are muttered
and there’s even some surprising and unironic talk about the
quality.

On the Irish side of the equation Father Dolan, played selflessly

by Joe Sullivan, is both the conscience and – it is made clear – the
force of law in the community of Suil-a-beg. But between these
two poles reside the anarchic, free wheeling Irish themselves,
and of course there’s the Shaughraun, the living embodiment of
the Irish sense of fun.

Boucicault was no trailblazer. It’s not the colonial forces but the
Irish themselves who are both the heroes and villains of this tale.

Corry Kinchela, the scheming Irish squire who double crosses

everyone in his path, is a well-known native of the town, and in
his determination to acquire new properties and the beautiful
women who live on them, he stops at nothing.

Worse, we learn that the lamentable squire has sent the young
woman’s brother to a penal colony in Australia, and then
confiscated his estate. Ross DeGraw plays this everyday monster
with a persuasive degree of rage and narcissism, and he even
manages to wring real pathos and menace from an otherwise
thoroughly contrived script.

Other standouts in this lively romp include Clodagh Bowyer, the

Shaungraun’s longsuffering but indulgent mother. Glenn Peters
gives a spirited performance as Harvey Duff, the slippery rogue
who’d stop at nothing to further his own ends.

But the play belongs to the gifted Chris Keveney, an inspired

choice as the beguiling title character.

Read the review on the Irish Voice website here.

The Irish Echo

Review by Joe Hurley

Storm's 'Shaughraun' is magical

Irish American playwright Dion Boucicault wrote The Shaughraun

in 1874 as a vehicle for himself to star in. At age fifty-four, he
assigned himself the role of a free-spirited rural vagabond, Conn
O'Kelly, a charming, roughish lad of perhaps twenty-two
summers.

Conn is known as a 'Shaughraun,' a term that translates loosely

as 'vagabond,' or 'scoundrel.' An unapologetic melodrama, the
play conforms to a style which was extremely popular in
Boucicault's day. It's packed with the conventions of popular 19th
century melodrama, ranging from mistaken identities and
thwarted romances to devious villainies and heartfelt reunions.

The Shaughraun is one of three works which are often referred to

collectively as the playwright's "Irish plays," the others being The
Colleen Bawn and Arrah-na-Pogue. Much of the trilogy's great
popularity was due to the fact that Boucicault's talented actress
wife, Agnes Robertson, starred in the first productions of all three
plays.

None of them, however, appears to have been as close to

Boucicault's heart as The Shaughraun, probably because of the
size and richness of the part he'd written for himself to play. And
play it he did, well into the final phase of his career, by which
time he was ludicrously overage for the role.

Conn, whose elderly mother loves him but despairs of his

seemingly reckless comings and goings, is usually involved in
some dangerous and misunderstood adventure, most of which
turn out to have been acts of utter selflessness in which he'd
managed to put himself at extreme risk in the service of others.

There is an almost defiant shamelessness about The Shaughraun,

which Peter Dobbins has handled successfully, acknowledging
that Boucicault's play is a gallivanting pleasure machine, loaded
with characters who deliver their asides into the very face of the
audience.

Director Dobbins has been extremely fortunate with his casting.

The agile and engaging Chris Keveney, who plays Conn, conveys
just how much fun he's having portraying a character described
as "the soul of every fair" and "the life of every funeral." Keveney
fits the bill to perfection, lighting up every scene he's in.

Just as fine is Clodagh Bowyer as Conn's hard-pressed old

mother, steadfastly loyal and loving. Kris Kling is a stalwart
Captain Molineaux, while Mia Perry is a standout as Claire, the
Sligo girl who loves him. Tim Seib is solid as the wrongfully
convicted Robert and Daniela Mastropietro shines as his
undaunted beloved, Arte O'Neal.
Laura Bozzone registers strongly as Moya, Conn's girlfriend, and
Joe Sullivan scores as her uncle, the local priest. Ross DeGraw is
memorable as the land-hungry villain Corry Kinchela.

Pictured: Tim Seib and Chris Keveney in a scene from The

Shaughraun
(photo © Michael Abrams)

nytheatre.com

Review by Martin Denton

There's theatrical magic going on at The Storm Theatre this

month, of a pure and rare variety. Director Peter Dobbins has got
his hands once again on Dion Boucicault's charmer of a
melodrama, The Shaughraun, and he's brought it to life in all its
pixilated, blarney-spouting glory, just as it ought to be seen. If
you're ready to spend a full hour (i.e., the play's second act) at
the edge of your seat, to relish some fast-paced adventure and
some sweet if improbable romancing that just might bring a tear
to your sentimental eye, well, then I advise you to purchase
tickets to this play forthwith.

This is Storm's second experience with The Shaughraun, and

after ten years it's a pleasure to see this still little-known work
back on stage. Written about 140 years ago, it takes place in a
small town in Ireland called Suil-a-beg, where a remarkably
convoluted tale unfolds. It centers around Robert Ffolliott, a
young Irish gentleman who sometime before the play begins was
framed as a Fenian and sent to prison in Australia. His sister,
Claire, and her friend, Arte O'Neal, have been victimized by the
evil Corry Kinchela during Robert's absence; they are just a few
weeks away from losing their home to Kinchela, and Arte—in love
with Robert—is being wooed by Kinchela as well.

As the play commences, Claire meets and falls in love at first

sight with a noble British captain, Harry Molineux, who has
arrived in this remote Irish locale with his regiment to track down
an escaped convict, who (of course) turns out to be Robert. It
must be noted that Molineux falls in love with Claire in even more
head-over-heels fashion that she with him.
Conn, the village Shaughraun (who, according to the playbill, is
"the soul of every fair, the life of every funeral"—in short, the
kind of fellow that everyone wants to know but that few would
trust their daughters or their property with), has helped Robert
with his escape and now conspires with Claire, Arte, and Robert's
guardian Father Dolan to keep Robert away from the clutches of
Molineux and his men. When Kinchela and his henchman Harvey
Duff find out what's afoot, they get into the fray as well.

I told you it was complicated. But it plays out smoothly and

seamlessly under Dobbins's oh-so-steady directorial hand, so that
by the first act curtain you'll likely be fully in tune with all of these
delightful characters and, as already noted, you may well spend
most of the second act breathlessly reveling in Boucicault's
neatly plotted developments. There are chase scenes, secret
meetings, faked deaths, double-crosses, and a hilarious Irish
wake (Boucicault is liberal with his satire of his fellow Irish). And
through it all, there's the forbidden love between Claire and her
arch-enemy, the English soldier Molineux—a love, of course,
whose eventual happy outcome is never for one second in doubt.
The Shaughraun is that kind of play.

The whole enterprise plays out on a lovely unit set created by

Ken Larson that, as lit masterfully by Michael Abrams, evokes the
many interior and exterior locations required by the sprawling
story. Joanne M. Haas's costumes similarly suit the period and the
respective classes/stations of each of the many characters.

The cast, of general fine quality, features two exemplary

performances. In the title role, there's Chris Keveney, who seems
to be having a splendid time as the irrepressible Conn, bounding
about the stage as if the rooms were all too small to hold him
properly. One exaggeratedly goofy exit of his in particular
reminded me of a Hanna-Barbera cartoon character giving chase.
As Captain Molineux, Kris Kling is nothing short of superb, giving
what may turn out to be the best comic romantic performance of
the season. His utter conviction as the play's besotted hero is
inspiring and infectious, and his British accent and attitude are
unwaveringly correct. Kling, who made his Storm debut last
season in The Jeweler's Shop, is a major find.

Offering strong support in the company of 16 are Glenn Peters,

who makes Harvey Duff not simply the villainous comic relief that
he could be, but a complex, thoroughly rotten coward and knave;
Laura Bozzone, who plays Father Dolan's niece, Moya (who is also
Conn's love interest) with vivacity and spirit; and Tim Seib as the
earnest and forthright young Robert Ffolliott, making him a
worthy focal point for all the shenanigans that fill this outsized
yarn.

It is, in sum, a show that reminds you why the theatre is where
we go to fill ourselves with awe and wonder, where the most
ordinary event—falling in love, say—can become gloriously
extraordinary. Dobbins and company are making this singular
miracle happen on stage at the Storm. If you're ready for an
evening of old-fashioned, unabashed charm, The Shaughraun
may be just the fellow you seek.

Read the review on the nytheatre.com website here.

The New Yorker

Dion Boucicault’s 1874 comic melodrama, set in rural County

Sligo, gets an energetic production at the Storm, complete with
pennywhistle music, the liberal use of asides, and a hero who
poaches, drinks, and plays the fiddle. The elaborate plot concerns
a scheme by a squire and his henchman to cheat Robert Ffolliott
(Tim Seib), his sister, Claire (Mia Perry), and his fiancée, Arte
(Daniela Mastropietro), out of their inheritance by imprisoning
Ffolliott for being an Irish nationalist; it’s up to Conn (Chris
Keveney), the local shaughraun, or rogue, to save the day. The
cast, under the direction of Peter Dobbins, delivers likable,
admirably low-shtick performances that keep things more
entertaining than corny.

Read the review on The New Yorker website here.

Backstage

Review by Gwen Orel

For those who think Irish playwriting consists largely of boozers

gabbing blarney, enlighten yourself with The Shaughraun
(pronounced "shok-RUN") at the Storm Theatre. This exciting
1874 melodrama by Irish playwright and subsequent New Yorker
Dion Boucicault speeds along from event to event. Fair play to
the Storm Theatre (as the Dublin expression goes) for producing
it again (with a different cast), 10 years after The Shaughraun
was the company's first production in its inaugural year.
Boucicault wrote over 150 plays, including a trilogy of Irish
dramas as well as The Octoroon and The Corsican Brothers, and
was hugely influential — Shaw's The Devil's Disciple (currently on
view at Irish Rep) probably could not have existed had The
Shaughraun not come along 20 years earlier. Still, productions
today are rare, so it's a treat to see this excellent version.

Director Peter Dobbins, also the company's artistic director, has a

sure hand that shines despite limited resources (there's no rolling
panorama turning the fourth wall inside out, as in the original
Broadway production). The characters' asides are consistently
clear, and the plot thickens appropriately.

Set against the aborted Fenian uprising of 1866 (the nationalist

Fenian Brotherhood was a society formed in America by Irishman
John O'Mahony), the story concerns Robert Ffolliott (Tim Seib), a
convicted rebel who has escaped from a penal colony in Australia
thanks to the wiles of his friend Conn the shaughraun
(shaughraun is Gaelic for wanderer, vagabond). Double-dealing
landlord Corry Kinchela (Ross DeGraw) tries to hide the queen's
pardon of the Fenians (wishful thinking on Boucicault's part) from
Ffolliott and marry Robert's sweetheart, Arte O'Neal (Daniela
Mastropietro), whose family estate he has swindled away.
Meanwhile, Captain Molineux (Kris Kling), assigned to patrol the
shore for signs of the fugitive, falls for Robert's sister Claire (Mia
Perry). Typically for Boucicault, those Irish who are collaborators
are even worse than the English.

Clodagh Bowyer as Conn's mother, Mastropietro as the noble

ingénue, Joe Sullivan as a patriotic priest, Laura Bozzone as
Moya, Conn's winsome sweetheart, and DeGraw, who makes
Kinchela a thorough bad'un, bring wit to their roles. As Harvey
Duff, Kinchela's henchman, Glenn Peters hits every note of humor
and malice. But Kling's gallant English straight man, hilariously
out of his depth among the Irish, whose wakes he calls
"melancholy entertainments," steals the show.
Read the review on the Backstage website here.

Curtain Up

Review by Kate Shea Kennon

Mia Perry as Claire Fflolliott & Kris Kling as Captain

Molineux.
(photo © Michael Abrams)

In greeting...

Molineux: "Is this place called Swillabeg?"

Claire: "No, it is called Suil-a-beg."
Molineux: "Beg pardon, your Irish names are so
unpronounceable. You see, I'm an Englishman."
Claire: "I remarked your misfortune. Poor creature, you
couldn't help it."

later. . .

Claire: "What's your name again - Mulligrubs?"

Molineux: "No; Molineux."
Claire: "I ax your pardon. You see, I'm Irish, and the English
names are so unpronounceable."

The Storm Theatre is celebrating its tenth anniversary by

resurrecting Dion Boucicault's The Shaughraun from its inaugural
season ten years ago. Resurrect is a carefully chosen word here
for Boucicault, as successful a playwright and actor as he was in
his time, even deemed the "Irish Shakespeare," is rarely
produced now. The Storm Theatre's initial production was the first
in New York in over a century, something of an irony since the
1874 New York premiere of this Irish play, written by an Irish
playwright, starring an Irish actor and featuring uniquely Irish
situations was a smash hit when it premiered in America - an
example of the symbiotic relationship between Dublin and New
York culture.

The Shaughraun (pronounced shok-run and meaning scoundrel or

rascal) is an important piece of theater history since it represents
a change in dramatic style and was part of a body of work which
had a profound effect on George Bernard Shaw and John Synge.
Though Shaw was fond of criticizing Boucicault's crowd-pleasing
melodramas, he actually owed a great deal to Boucicault's
innovations in characterization which was especially apparent in
his lone Irish play, John Bull's Other Island. The narrative revolves
around a dispossessed Irish family; the brother is in prison and
his sister and fiancee live in poverty. A vaudevillian villain, in
disguise as a family friend, has robbed the family of their estate
and now attempts to thwart the return of the master of the house
and take the bride for his own.

Conn, the Shaughraun, is played with athletic charm by Chris

Keveny. Ross DeGraw as the evil Corry Kinchela has great fun
with his role and easily handles the many asides needed to keep
the audience abreast to his wicked plans. Another actor who
seems to enjoy his monstrous character is Glenn Peters as
Harvey Duff, informant and sidekick. These characters are
broadly drawn, yet Boucicault is more subtle than his toothless
widows and mustache swirling villains would at first lead us to
believe. Playing against cliche, one of its heros is a Captain in the
Queen's army. Captain Molineux (Kris Kling) is a precursor to
Brian Friel's Lieutenant Yolland in Translations. He is a young
British soldier who falls in love with an Irish girl and symbolically
with the unhappy island itself. The irony here is that Molineux as
a name seems more Gallic than Gaelic. Those remembering their
Irish history will think of a time when Ireland looked to France to
save it from England. France disappointed. Will Molineux
disappoint Claire now?

The play may belong at heart to the Shaughraun ("the soul of

every fair, the life of every funeral, the first fiddle at all weddings
and patterns"), yet every time the young soldier comes on stage,
with his one eye on decorum and the other on Claire Fflolliott
(Mia Perry), comic energy rises. Captain Molineux may indeed be
"not a man but a trophy"", but he does have the advantage of
having some of the evening's best dialogue. He is infatuated
despite his rank. She is infatuated despite her patriotism. At odds
with each other and themselves, the Captain and Claire's
dialogue is the classic humor of misunderstanding; for example
this interchange when Claire needs to light a beacon fire to aid in
the escape of her wrongly convicted brother and must cajole the
clueless captain into aiding her.

Molineux: "I have said or done something to offend you. Tell

me what it is. It will afford me much pleasure to plead for pardon
for what I have done."
Claire: "You want to know what ails me?"
Molineux: "Yes."
Claire: "Do you see that tar-barrel?"
Molineux: "Good gracious! What has a tar-barrel have to do
with my offense?"
Claire: "Nothing but it has everything to do with mine."
Molineux: (Aside, after a pause) "I wonder if there is madness
in the family?"
Claire: "Do you see that tar barrel?"
Molineux: "I see something like a tar barrel in that pile of
brushwood."
Claire: "Will you oblige me with a match?"
Molineux: "Certainly. (Aside) There's no doubt about it. So
lovely, and yet so afflicted! I feel even more tenderly towards her
than I did!"
Claire: "If I were to ask you to light that bonfire, would you do
it?"
Molineux: "With pleasure. (Aside) It is the moon that affects
her. I wish I had an umbrella."

Mr. Kling makes great use of the inherent comedy of confusion.

Captain Molineux is all uniform and quiet emotional upheaval. His
direct appeals to the audience do not break from character but
add to it. These asides, so much part of the melodrama with a
wink and sometimes a symbolic twirling of the mustache, are
mocked from a safe distance from 21st century seats, but they
can be irresistible. Think of John Cusack in High Fidelity. Who can
resist his constant direct appeal to his audience?

Ultimately, The Shaughraun is a comic melodrama with more

comedy than drama, but that doesn't mean that Boucicault didn't
have some serious issues hiding among the pratfalls. Ireland's
Home Rule Movement was organized the same year as the play
made its appearance. The charismatic Charles Stewart Parnell, a
bit of a Shaughraun himself, was a key force behind the Home
Rule movement. It is no small matter that Robert Ffolliott (Tim
Seib) has been imprisoned for being a Fenian, a rebel against
British imperialism in Ireland. His being sent to Australia for
plotting against England underscores the new nationalism in
Ireland at this time. Mrs. O'Kelly (Clodagh Bowyer), Conn's
widowed mother, has an unfortunate physical appearance in
comic contrast to the beauty of the young girls around her, but
her shawl made of rags reminds of the poverty of rural Ireland.
The play, produced in 1874, is only one generation removed from
the millions that died in the famine of 1847-48. The severe
economic depression in Ireland throughout the 19th century is
illustrated by the loss of land and house. None of these issues
come across as sermon but as comedy as the audience laughs
over the Captain's bewilderment over the emotional impact of 5
golden pounds on Mrs. O' Kelly's demeanor.

The many scene changes and relatively large cast present

difficulties for the small theatre company which are ably dealt
with by director Peter Dobbins. The cast is enthusiastic and
willing to chew up the scenery as the genre demands. Laura
Bozzone as Moya, the Shaughraun's love interest. is a standout
and Joe Sullivan as Father Dolan effectively defies the usual stage
Irish concept.

As I write this, the Golden Globes ceremony is disguised as a

press conference. The writers on strike should be putting aside a
placard in honor of Dion Boucicault. His most influential role in
theater today is neither as playwright nor actor, but as an
ambitious advocate for authors' rights. Tired of receiving initial
fixed payment for his successful plays as was customary at the
time, Boucicault helped a copyright law through Congress that
enabled writers to derive percentage revenue from the profits of
their plays. It changed the economics of the theater; writing
became a much more profitable career. Even G. B. Shaw couldn't
find fault with that.

Reviews of last production:

"The Shaughraun" at The Storm Theatre, Times Square
The NewYorker--"Comic melodrama, an energetic production,...elaborate
plot...the cast, under the direction of Peter Dobbins, delivers likeable, admirably
low shtick performances that keep things entertaining"
Irish Echo--"Director Dobbins has been extremely fortunate with his casting.
Ross DeGraw is memorable as the land-hungry villain Corry Kinchela "
NewYorkTheatre.com--"Theatrical magic going on at The Storm Theatre of a
pure and rare variety...in all its pixilated, blarney spouting glory, just as it ought to
be seen....edge of your seat, fast-paced adventure & just might bring a tear to
your sentimental eye...gloriously extraordinary...old-fashioned, unabashed
charm"
Irish Voice--" Ross DeGraw plays this everyday monster with a persuasive
degree of rage and narcissism, and he even manages to wring real pathos and
menace from an otherwise thoroughly contrived script "
Backstage--"For those who think Irish playwrighting consists largely of boozers
gabbing blarney, enlighten yourself with The Shaughraun. Laura Bozzone as
Moya and DeGraw, who makes Kinchela a thorough bad'un, bring wit to their
roles. !"
Curtain Up--"The Shaughraun is an important piece of theater history... Ross
DeGraw as the evil Corry Kinchela has great fun with his role and easily handles
the many asides needed to keep the audience abreast to his wicked plans "