Playhouse serves up ‘Irish’ tale
By ANDY GRAY
Staff writer
YOUNGSTOWN — Dr. John Cox’s celebration of his Irish heritage won’t end on Friday with St. Patrick’s Day.
After serving as grand marshal for Sunday’s Mahoning Valley St. Patrick’s Day in Boardman, Cox is directing “The Irish … And How They Got That Way” for three performances at the Youngstown Playhouse March 24 to 26.
Cox, who is president of the Playhouse’s board of directors, is a familiar sight on stage, but he doesn’t direct that often. But he thought the show created by Frank McCourt would be a fun way to extend the festivities.
“Being Irish, St. Patrick’s Day is like Christmas for my family,” he said.
McCourt, best known as the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir “Angela’s Ashes,” weaves stories and songs to tell the history that led to the Irish migration to the United States and the struggle those immigrants faced here.
“I saw it during its original run at Irish Rep in New York with my mom and dad when my sister was living in New York,” he said. “This piece has been next to my heart forever, and I feel happy and lucky to be able to do it.”
The cast features Amanda Beagle, Jackie Collins, John Cruz, Craig Petrie and Ben El-Dalati.
“Amanda Beagle I got out of pure luck,” Cox said. “She rarely does community theater anymore. I called her because I had a couple songs I needed that kind of voice for, and she was all about it from the get go. It really made my life easier. And I lucked out
YOUNGSTOWN — Dr. John Cox’s celebration of his Irish heritage won’t end on Friday with St. Patrick’s Day.
After serving as grand marshal for Sunday’s Mahoning Valley St. Patrick’s Day in Boardman, Cox is directing “The Irish … And How They Got That Way” for three performances at the Youngstown Playhouse March 24 to 26.
Cox, who is president of the Playhouse’s board of directors, is a familiar sight on stage, but he doesn’t direct that often. But he thought the show created by Frank McCourt would be a fun way to extend the festivities.
“Being Irish, St. Patrick’s Day is like Christmas for my family,” he said.
McCourt, best known as the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir “Angela’s Ashes,” weaves stories and songs to tell the history that led to the Irish migration to the United States and the struggle those immigrants faced here.
“I saw it during its original run at Irish Rep in New York with my mom and dad when my sister was living in New York,” he said. “This piece has been next to my heart forever, and I feel happy and lucky to be able to do it.”
The cast features Amanda Beagle, Jackie Collins, John Cruz, Craig Petrie and Ben El-Dalati.
“Amanda Beagle I got out of pure luck,” Cox said. “She rarely does community theater anymore. I called her because I had a couple songs I needed that kind of voice for, and she was all about it from the get go. It really made my life easier. And I lucked out with the rest of the cast too.”
McCourt’s script explains the context of the times when the songs were written, and the music ranges from the ballad “Danny Boy” to U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”
“It’s a history lesson set to the Irish songs of the time frame,” Cox said. “Those songs impact you a little differently when you realize what they were were written for and what they were meant to do.
“The whole idea of immigration — we have pockets of ethnicity still in Youngstown, be it the Germans, Italians, Puerto Ricans. I thought this would be a good story to tell. It’s about the American Dream, people coming over here for a better life and what they brought to American culture and what they built. That was appealing to me, to be able to tell that story.”
Jan Crews is the music director, Leslie Brown is the lighting designer, Caitlyn Santiago is the stage manager and Johnny Pecano is the sound and set designer.
The set is designed to resemble an Irish pub, and Cox plans to have a working keg on stage for the cast.
“The cast will be able to pull a little beer during the show and have a sip if they need it,” he said. “In my family, everything turns into a party, and being the weekend after St. Paddy’s Day, I’m hoping it brings people out to see it.”
agray@tribtoday.com
If you go …
WHAT: “The Irish … And How They Got That Way”
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. March 24 and 25 and 2:30 p.m. March 26
WHERE: Youngstown Playhouse, 600 Playhouse Lane, Youngstown
HOW MUCH: Tickets range from $27 to $37 and are available online at youngstownplay
house.org and by calling 330-788-8739.