For Paul Daigneault, a final show that returns to one of SpeakEasy's most produced playwrights

Boston Globe

13-02-2025

The 'Man of No Importance' of the title is Alfie Byrne (award-winning actor Eddie Shields), a closeted city bus conductor in Dublin in the mid-1960s who finds artistic fulfillment reciting Oscar Wilde's poetry to his passengers and directing an amateur theater company in his parish church. The story captures a specific moment in Alfie's life, when his efforts to mount a production of Wilde's 'Salome' coincide with his first steps out of the closet, both of which are publicly thwarted. The musical's conceit is that the director becomes the star of his own story, with the passengers and members of his theater troupe serving as a kind of Greek chorus. Additional company members include award winners Aimee Doherty and Jennifer Ellis.
'This musical has so many layers,' Daigneault says. 'It's about someone who is inspired by art, who is trying to find his authentic self. It's also about the power of community. In this case, a community of performers.'
Creating a theater community resonates with Daigneault, whose production of 'A Man of No Importance' marks his final bow as founder and artistic director of SpeakEasy Stage.
'I'm never happier than when I'm in the rehearsal room,' Daigneault says, acknowledging that parallel with the protagonist. 'But, unlike Alfie, I'm lucky to be a person who has always lived an authentic life.'
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Kathy St. George, center, during a scene-ending musical number during rehearsal in SpeakEasy Stage Co's production of "A Man of No Importance."
JOSH REYNOLDS FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE/Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe
Daigneault first directed the musical, which was created by composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens ('Ragtime,' 'Once on This Island,' 'Anastasia'), in 2003 in a SpeakEasy co-production with Súgán Theatre Company. The cast included Nancy E. Carroll and Sarah deLima, both of whom have since passed away, as well as Kerry Dowling and Billy Meleady, both of whom return in this production. The musical was adapted from a 1994 film of the same name that starred Albert Finney, and
'What I love about this show is the opportunity to assemble a talented cast with young actors learning so much from older, experienced performers,' Daigneault says. 'It's also more of a play with music, with Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens changing musical styles to fit the story.'
Meleady, a Dublin native who is reprising the role of Baldy, the sometime stage manager of theater troupe, says the musical resonates with him in different ways two decades later.
'Of course I'm older, and have had different experiences, but the details the show captures in the lyrics to 'The Streets of Dublin,' the emotion of 'The Cuddles Mary Gave' [about Baldy's late wife], and the relationships feel so much deeper,' he says.
Dowling, who has been friends with Daigneault since they were undergraduates at Boston College (along with fellow cast member McGarrahan), and helped launch SpeakEasy Stage, says the first rehearsal was understandably bittersweet because it marked the end of an era for SpeakEasy as well as the loss of two of the original cast members.
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'At the same time,' she says, 'this new group of people looks and feels different, the script has been revised and Paul takes a fresh approach to the scenes, driven by this group of people in the room. What I love about being directed by Paul is his ability to make every member of the company feel needed and important.'
While Daigneault admits that over the years, his company's theatrical choices sometimes explored controversial topics, he says, 'I never set out to make political statements or create change. Alfie's art feeds his soul and helps other people think. That's what the best theater does.'
Daigneault says the joy of working on this musical again is the opportunity to discover new elements of these complex characters.
'This show celebrates the ways in which goodness and grace can prevail in this world,' he says. 'It's easy to dismiss people by tacking on a label, but once you get to know someone, grace always prevails.'
A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE
Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company, in the Robert Theatre at the Calderwood Pavilion, Tremont St., Boston. Feb. 21-March 22. Tickets: $20-$85. 617-933-8600.
'As You Like It' on Boston Common
William Shakespeare's romantic comedy 'As You Like It,' returns to Boston Common this July-August as the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company's annual free production. CSC founder and artistic director Steven Maler will direct. Casting and production team members will be announced soon.
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Meanwhile, Associate Artistic Director