The Irish Repertory Theatre Presents the American Premiere of

ULSTER AMERICAN

BY DAVID IRELAND  / DIRECTED BY CIARÁN O’REILLY 

STARRING MATTHEW BRODERICK, GERALDINE HUGHES, & MAX  BAKER  

REVIEW BY TRAV S.D. | What better way to celebrate the season of St. Patrick’s Day–that holiday when millions without a drop of Irish blood in their veins don shamrocks and Kelly green to celebrate an Irish hero of whom they know little. by over-imbibing beverages associated with the Emerald Isle–than to watch a play whose three characters enact a similar dumb-show of bumbling futility? That was this reviewer’s happy portion this past weekend at Chelsea’s Irish Repertory Theatre, where David Ireland’s Ulster American will be slaying audiences through May 10. 

The play is a three-way chamber piece, played in a single, relentless 80-minute act. The characters are a perfect storm of misunderstanding: A Hollywood movie star (Matthew Broderick), an English stage director (Max Baker), and a female playwright from Northern Ireland (Geraldine Hughes). Convened on the eve of rehearsals for a new play, the three quickly come to realize that none of them are on the same page about the content of the script–or about anything else, for that matter.

Broderick’s character is a guy of Irish Catholic heritage who knows nothing about his native country, including where the county of Ulster is or the political struggles it has undergone. He feels that he signed on to play an “Irish” character in an “Irish” play, only to have his definitions of what those things are undermined by the playwright, who for her part considers herself British, and is a foursquare Unionist. Meanwhile, the Brit director, who was drawn to the play by the “real, natural” Irish subject matter, manifests ethnic snobbery with every breath he takes. He continues to regard Northern Ireland as a colony, rather than a fully integrated part of the U.K. And of course he scorns the provincial stupidity of the American. 

There’s something ingenious about representing these three points of view in an equilateral triangle. It gives the show legs. Thus far, it has played at venues in Edinburgh, London, and Dublin (though not yet in Belfast, to my knowledge). Here in New York, we are particularly receptive to satire about Americans (even more so at this historical moment), and Broderick’s character does not disappoint. A major star playing a major star, he’s full of lip service to contemporary PC norms of grown-up conversation, but possesses a child-like compulsion to transgress at every available turn, posing provocative questions about such things as when it’s advisable to use the N-word, and which woman from history one ought to rape if forced to at gunpoint. Broderick’s character choice for this guy is perhaps a hair on the broad side, but he remains consistent in it, and it proves a welcome sweetener for what could be, in the wrong hands, a merely tense experience. As it is, comparisons to such things as Mamet’s Speed-the-Plow, Rabe’s Hurlyburly, and Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? are all unavoidable. The spectacle of horrible people not knowing they’re horrible is always priceless. 

Now that the “The Troubles” have been officially over for nearly 30 years, one might be forgiven for wondering, “Why this play now?” But the question answers itself, I think. We’re at a moment when the fate of the world rests in the hands of people whose ignorance of history brings about unthinkable and destructive misjudgments of leadership on a daily basis. Though Ulster American is a drawing room comedy through and through, to its credit it also illustrates the violence to which such cloddishness inevitably leads. That would only be a spoiler if you’re not paying attention. 

Through May 10: Wed. at 2pm & 7pm; Thurs. & Fri.  at 7pm; Sat. at 2pm & 7pm; Sun. at 3pm

No performances Sat., March 21 through Sat., March 28

at the Irish Repertory Theatre (132 W. 22nd St. btw. 6th/7th Aves.)

For tickets ($55 – $125), click here

$25 tickets will be available to patrons under 40 years of age, via Irish Rep’s Green Seats membership.

IRISH REPERTORY THEATRE, co-founded by Producing Artistic Director Ciarán O’Reilly and Artistic Director  Charlotte Moore, is now in its 37th season after first opening its doors in September 1988 with Sean O’Casey’s The  Plough and the Stars. Irish Rep is currently the only year-round theatre company in New York City devoted to bringing  Irish and Irish American works to the stage. Recognized with the Jujamcyn Theatres Award, a special Drama Desk  Award for “Excellence in Presenting Distinguished Irish Drama,” an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding  Achievement, and the Lucille Lortel Award for “Outstanding Body of Work,” Irish Rep celebrates the very best in Irish  theatre, from the masters to the new generation of Irish and Irish American writers who are transforming the  stage. Nearly 50,000 audience members annually attend productions at Irish Rep’s theatre located in the heart of  New York’s Off-Broadway community. Once here, they witness Irish Rep’s engaging perspective on the Irish and  their unique contributions to the world of drama. 

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TRAV S.D. | Writer and performer Trav S.D. (Travis Stewart) has written for the NY Times, the Village Voice, and numerous other publications. He has been in the vanguard of New York’s vaudeville and burlesque scenes since 1995, and has directed his own plays, revues, and solo pieces in NYC since 1989. His books include No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, and The Marx Brothers Miscellany: A Subjective Appreciation of the World’s Greatest Comedy Team. Click here to visit Travalanche.

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