Latest news with #AManofNoImportance
Los Angeles Times
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Simply impeccable: This musical at A Noise Within in Pasadena shines with understated excellence
'A Man of No Importance,' an off-Broadway musical based on the 1994 film that starred Albert Finney as a Dublin bus conductor with an obsession for Oscar Wilde and a yen for amateur theatricals, was a natural fit for playwright Terrence McNally, the bard of lonely city dwellers with conflicted longings. Collaborating again with Stephen Flaherty (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics), the team behind the musical 'Ragtime,' McNally wrote the book for a musical that might just as easily have been the basis for another of his compulsively funny, emotionally searing character studies. The scale here is far more compact than 'Ragtime.' But 'A Man of No Importance,' which is receiving a lovely revival at A Noise Within in Pasadena under the graceful direction of the company's producing artistic director, Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, finds freedom in Wilde's iconoclastic example. Alfie Byrne (Kasey Mahaffy), a disciple of Wilde's (in more ways than one), has decided to stage the heretical 'Salome' with his ragtag troupe at his neighborhood church, St. Imelda. Alfie, who's either being willfully obtuse or radically uncompromising, sees nothing sacrilegious in Wilde's one-act tragedy. At the defiant Wildean center is infamous Salome, Herod's manipulative stepdaughter. Frustrated by her failed attempt to seduce Jokanaan (better known as John the Baptist), she demands the prophet's head be brought to her on a silver platter. Her outrageous request is granted after she dances the dance of the seven veils for her besotted stepfather, in a play that careens into multiple taboos under biblical cover. Alfie is convinced that he's found his Salome after a mysterious young woman named Adele (Analisa Idalia) nervously boards his bus. He must get permission to stage the play at St. Imelda's social hall from Father Kenny (Neill Fleming), who inquires whether there's any immodest dancing in the entertainment. 'Not immodest, Father Kenny,' Alfie replies. 'It's art.' For Alfie, art excuses what society finds objectionable. It's the reason he takes refuge in poetry and drama. He recites verse on the bus as much to enrapture his passengers as captivate his handsome young colleague, Robbie (CJ Eldred), the bus driver whom he calls Bosie after Wilde's fatal inamorato, Lord Alfred Douglas. Homosexuality isn't quite as dangerous in 1964 Dublin, when the musical is set. But the threats are real all the same. Sharing an apartment with his unmarried sister, Lily (Juliana Sloan), Alfie prepares exotic meals at home before retreating into his private sanctuary, his bedroom. His sister can't even imagine what he gets up to with all those suspect books he keeps piled up under lock and key. Carney (David Nevell), who owns the butcher shop downstairs from Alfie and Lily, is also mad about the theater. Alfie has cast him in 'Salome,' but Carney can't believe the filth once he reads the script. He voices his concerns to Lily, with whom he enjoys mass in the day and alcoholic refreshments in the evening. Clearly, Alfie's soul is in danger, and Carney has appointed himself the man to save it. He formally complains to the parish authorities to put an end to 'Salome,' but the real crisis comes from the shame and sorrow of Alfie's repressed life. When Alfie flamboyantly staggers out of the closet, he does so in the guise of Wilde, who makes dreamlike appearances in the musical (courtesy of Nevell, in a cleverly constructed dual role). Alfie's liberation doesn't go well for him, but his public disgrace can't undo the goodwill he's established through his championing of art. (The movie's sentimental contours are still apparent, but the musical earns its affectionate ending by keeping the focus communal.) 'A Man of No Importance' is a love letter to the stage, yet another reason McNally was the ideal man for the job. This modest musical, which would no doubt wilt under the glare of Broadway, is at its most touching when chronicling the ways art lifts the spirits of everyday people who are blessed with no spectacular gifts yet nevertheless possess the inner lives of theatrical giants. Mahaffy gives us a much younger version of Alfie than Finney's late-middle-age version in the film. Time is not bearing down on Alfie in quite the same way, but Mahaffy makes us believe that the character is running out of hope. The camaraderie between Mahaffy's Alfie and Eldred's Robbie, both of whom sing beautifully, is sweetly convincing. Robbie is a ladies' lad, but he appreciates the poetic vistas that Alfie opens up to him. (Poetry hath charms to soothe the straight Dubliner's breast.) Alfie may never realize his romantic fantasies, but his Romanticism transcends his straitened horizons. Flaherty and Ahrens' score is tailored to the characters with bespoke exactness. 'A Man of No Importance' feels like a play that's been set to music. If the musical has any ambition to be an extravaganza, it keeps the desire safely in check. Discretion is perhaps the work's most charming asset. But an early number, 'Going Up,' a group number led by Carney about the compensatory joys of putting on a show, injects some Kander and Ebb-style adrenaline into the proceedings. The supporting cast is strong in voice and small-scale portraiture. Nevell, Sloan and Ed F. Martin as Baldy, the troupe's loyal stage manager, all impress in a company that makes a virtue of inconspicuous excellence. Most impressive of all is the way Rodriguez-Elliott conducts her large ensemble through rapid scene changes with gliding finesse. (Kudos to Francois-Pierre Couture's logistically savvy scenic design.) 'A Man of No Importance' not only celebrates simplicity but also depends upon it. What a treat to come across a musical that recognizes just how extraordinary the ordinary can be.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Curtains go up on Good Theater's new Portland location
Apr. 23—One year ago, Brian P. Allen thought the curtain had closed for Good Theater. The professional theater company had left its longtime home at The Hill Arts in Portland because of a major renovation and programming expansion at that venue. Good Theater did not have a new location when it wrapped the last performance of "A Man of No Importance" in March 2024. But this week, Good Theater returns to the stage, in a newly renovated auditorium at Stevens Square in Portland. Instead of closing, the nonprofit launched a fundraising campaign and partnered with the Developers Collaborative to turn an underused hall into a professional theater. The board hired its first full-time executive director. The first performance in their new home is a Broadway revue on the themes of alcohol and temperance. Allen, the artistic director, named the show "I'll Drink To That." "Toasting is something you do to celebrate," he said. "And this is a celebration." The new venue is also a boon for arts organizations. It can seat between 100 and 500, depending on the configuration of a series of sliding curtains. Good Theater will manage the space as part of its business model, and the Portland Chamber Music Festival is among those that have already claimed dates on the calendar. "We really appreciate that the Good Theater is investing in making sure the space works for a lot of different kinds of performing arts organizations," said Alice Kornhauser, the festival's executive director. Anticipation in the audience In 2002, Good Theater started performing in the 100-seat Parish Hall Theater at what was then called St. Lawrence Arts Center. They usually put on four to seven productions a season — roughly from October to April — with each running at least three weeks. In 2023, St. Lawrence Arts Center rebranded as The Hill Arts. The nonprofit rebooted a plan to build a 400-seat theater on the neighboring vacant lot where the church used to be, which has since been approved by the city. The Hill Arts decided not to host a theater company for a whole season in the larger theater because it would limit the dates on its calendar that it could offer the wide variety of entertainment planned. Allen started to look at options for continuing Good Theater's operation and reached out to other venues. When the Developers Collaborative first contacted him, he was not hopeful. But the space turned out to be a perfect fit, especially because of its accessibility. Stevens Square at Baxter Woods is a 55-plus community on the former campus of the Maine Girls' Academy, formerly Catherine McCauley High School, which closed in 2018. The auditorium had been used on occasion for performances and book signings, but had not been substantially updated. Good Theater and the Developers Collaborative agreed to share the cost of the renovation. The work included building a box office, raising the floor, reshaping the stage and completely updating the acoustics. The nonprofit launched a $500,000 capital campaign and quickly realized that the real need was double. But Allen said Good Theater has raised $850,000 from gifts ranging from $5 to $100,000. "We keep moving the goal posts a little bit, but the gifts keep coming," he said. With a week and a half until opening night, a construction crew was still at work. Plastic tarps protected the rows of red seats. But Allen beamed as he walked across the stage with executive director Gusta Johnson. She came to the job with two acting credits in Good Theater plays, and will appear in a rendition of "Demon Rum" from the musical "Nice Work If You Can Get It" in "I'll Drink To That." "Every day we're here, we have patrons show up and pop their heads in to ask 'When does this open?'" Johnson said. A 'new breath of energy' Last year, Kornhauser was also looking for a new home for the Portland Chamber Music Festival. Its longtime location was Hannaford Hall at the University of Southern Maine, but Kornhauser said the school signed a multiyear contract to host conferences on the campus that created a conflict with the festival's usual dates in August. The event usually draws 300 to 350 people. The university allowed time to relocate, but the options were so limited the festival was either going to have to downsize considerably or book a space without the right acoustics. "There really was not any perfect place, so we were preparing to make some difficult decisions," Kornhauser said. Then she saw the news about the renovation at Stevens Square. The venue not only has the number of seats the festival needs, but it also has perks that were not available in Hannaford Hall. Musicians will be able to wait to perform in a green room and enter from backstage rather than the lobby. The program will include more theatrical elements with new capabilities for lighting and projections. The building has a parking lot and no stairs. "It's a real theater, and it's designed for live performance," she said. "We're excited about those things. We also got super excited about being part of an artistic community spearheaded by Good Theater." Allen said the renovated venue will also allow Good Theater to do things it has never done. Their usual program has expanded to include a full schedule of summer entertainment. For years, Allen wanted to do a cabaret series, but he couldn't make the budget work with just 100 seats. This year, he will bring performers from New York for four weekend shows. Good Theater will also launch a series of free acting workshops on topics such as auditioning, stage combat and improv. Actors who have worked with Good Theater in the past described the environment as welcoming and warm. The company often hires local talent for performances, and a record 120 people have already signed up to audition for roles this season. George Dvorsky is a New York-based actor who had been coming to Maine for years when he first performed in a Broadway revue at Good Theater a couple of years ago. He said he and Allen knew each other in the theater world but really hit it off while working on that show. "He and I laughed for three weeks," he said. So he jumped at the chance to return to Portland for "I'll Drink To That." (He'll be in two numbers, including "We'll Take A Glass Together" from the musical "Grand Hotel.") In January, he will return again to perform "Something Wonderful," a show he developed with stories and songs from his 40-plus-year career in theater. Jennifer Rachele Ceide of Dover, N.H., sang at Good Theater for the first time in 2019 and now serves on the board. (She'll perform in "What Are You Thirsty For?" from the musical "Some Like It Hot" at "I'll Drink To That") She doesn't have a formal background in musical theater but still felt at home with the company. She loves that the new space will expand and diversify the theater's program. "Endings can really be this new moment of very energetic beginnings," Ceide said. "There's this new breath of energy in this space and even in the bodies of the people." ------ What else is on stage this spring? "I'll Drink To That" will run at Good Theater from April 30 to May 4. Tickets cost $10 for students and anyone 30 and under. Admission to the preview performance on April 30 is $30, and tickets for other adults are $50. For more information and the entire season lineup, visit or call 207-835-0895. You also have until May 4 to see "Not Quite Almost" by John Cariani at Portland Stage. Cariani also wrote "Almost, Maine" and returned to northern Maine with this interconnected collection of short plays about young love, making wishes and what it means to be truly understood. The season continues with "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" from May 14 to June 1. The classic by Edward Albee follows the unraveling marriage of Martha and George on the night of a university faculty party. Tickets range between $20 and $78 depending on the show. For more information, visit or call the box office at 207-774-0465. Mad Horse Theatre presents "The Legend of Georgia McBride" from May 1 to 30. This story of inclusivity, friendship and family follows an Elvis impersonator and a drag queen at a small-time club in the Florida panhandle. The entire season at Mad Horse Theatre in South Portland is pay-what-you-decide. For more information, visit or call 207-747-4148. Footlights Theatre in Falmouth will stage a naughty comedy called "The Naked Truth" from May 1 to 17. A straight-laced couple from Ohio inherits a clothing-optional resort in Florida. Tickets are $20, and more details are available at or 207-747-5434. In Lewiston, the Public Theatre will stage the romantic comedy "Now and Then" from May 2 to 11. In an Irish pub in Chicago, a young bartender and his girlfriend receive an intriguing proposition from a mysterious customer offering them $2,000 to sit and talk with him for an hour. Tickets are $15 for youth and $35 for adults. For more information, including details about a discount program for young adults, visit or call 207-782-3200. The schedule at The Hill Arts in Portland includes dance, cabaret, sketch comedy and burlesque this May. One performance will be Vivid Motion's performance of "Grania, Pirate Queen," a choreographed performance about the most feared chieftain and pirate captain of the Irish seas. Tickets range between $10 and $30. For more information and the full calendar at The Hill Arts, visit or call 207-347-7177. Biddeford's City Theater presents "Murder on the Orient Express" from May 9 to May 25. Detective Hercule Poirot must identify a killer on a luxurious train in this classic Agatha Christie mystery. Tickets cost $30. Visit or call 207-282-0849 for more information. Ogunquit Playhouse will begin its season May 15 with "Come From Away," a musical based on the events in a small Newfoundland town in the days that followed the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Tickets start at $40 and are available at or 207-646-5511. The spring program at Portland Ovations includes the Broadway national tour of "Ain't Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations" on May 27 and 28 at Merrill Auditorium. Tickets cost between $55 and $125. For more information and events, visit or call the PortTix box office at 207-842-0800. Copy the Story Link We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion. You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs. Show less
Boston Globe
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
SpeakEasy sends off a man of great importance with a fitting swan song
Advertisement In fact, I had to go all the way back to 2013 to remember the last time the theater delivered a total stink bomb. (It was What that means is that for cast and audience alike, there's a lot going on, subtext-wise, as they perform in or watch 'A Man of No Importance.' The experience registers as a thank-you, a farewell, and a fond salute, all in one, to Daigneault, who's stepping down from his post as SpeakEasy's artistic leader at the end of this season. 'A Man of No Importance' is the last production he will direct for the company while he's still leading it – and his final SpeakEasy staging as the boss is rife with Daigneault hallmarks. For one, he has been exceptionally astute when it comes to casting. In 'A Man of No Importance,'' Eddie Shields gives the latest in a string of terrific performances as Alfie Byrne, a closeted bus conductor in 1964 Dublin — the 'Man' of the title. Shields beautifully captures the emotional toll taken by Alfie's need to live a double life: jaunty in public, lonely in private. Kathy St. George and Sam Simahk (center) with (from left) Meagan Lewis-Michelson, Kerry A. Dowling, Ronan Green, and Billy Meleady. Nile Scott Studios Alfie has been directing musicals for years with his amateur St. Imelda Players. But he runs afoul of church authorities when he announces that the troupe's next show will not be 'The Importance of Being Earnest,' as expected, but rather another, racier Oscar Wilde play: 'Salome.' Advertisement The one-act 1893 play tells the story of Salome, who danced erotically with seven veils and then demanded the head of the prophet Jokanaan, also known as John the Baptist. 'Salome' was banned in Britain at the time, with the official reason being a law that prohibited stage depictions of biblical figures. 'It is not immodest,' Alfie insists. 'It is art.' And the battle is on, enacted by a cast that's a virtual Who's Who of Boston acting talent, including Aimee Doherty, Kerry A. Dowling, Will McGarrahan, Billy Meleady, Sam Simahk, and the one and only Kathy St. George. She stops the show with a hilarious tap number (created by ace choreographer Ilyse Robbins) during which St. George removes one veil after another and tosses them into the air, Salome-style. Daigneault has also consistently made room on his stage for plays and musicals that strive to deliver fully dimensional portraits of gay life, such as In violent and in nonviolent-but-painful ways, homophobia rears its ugly head in 'A Man of No Importance.' But the play also seeks to affirm the basic decency, or at least the potential for decency, in the way human beings treat one another. The production also showcases the way Daigneault has sought opportunities to 'right-size' plays or musicals that he felt required a more intimate staging than was possible on Broadway or at one of the larger regional theaters. For 'A Man of No Importance,' the Roberts Studio Theatre has been reconfigured so that the audience is grouped on three sides, peering in, as it were, at the messy business of a theatrical production being born. Advertisement And he has a long history of shining a light on works that haven't received their due. One of the best examples was 'A Man of No Importance' is another case in point. Based on the 1994 film starring Albert Finney, the musical is a lesser-known collaboration of the 'Ragtime' team of McNally (book), Lynn Ahrens (lyrics), and Stephen Flaherty (music). Asked what is next for Daigneault after he steps down on June 30 SpeakEasy's director of marketing and communications Jim Torres said by email that he'll continue to direct and teach at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, while also carrying on with 'his journey to explore all 63 U.S. National Parks.' Once he's out of the pressure-cooker that is the job of artistic director, Daigneault also plans to 'spend more time in Connecticut with his husband, the Rt. Rev. Jeffrey Mello, who serves as the Episcopal Bishop for the state of Connecticut,' Torres said. Daigneault has never come across as a self-aggrandizing sort, but it seems pretty clear that to Boston theatergoers, he will always be a man of considerable importance. Advertisement A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE Book by Terrence McNally. Music by Stephen Flaherty. Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Directed by Paul Daigneault. Choreographed by Ilyse Robbins. Music direction by Paul S. Katz. Presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company. At Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. Through March 22. Tickets start at $25. 617-933-8600, Don Aucoin can be reached at
Boston Globe
13-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
For Paul Daigneault, a final show that returns to one of SpeakEasy's most produced playwrights
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.' Advertisement 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. Advertisement '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. Advertisement Meanwhile, Associate Artistic Director
