Theater Roundup by Scott Stiffler

Ulster American at the Irish Repertory Theatre / Molly “Equality” Dykeman in Bushes are Bloomin’ /

/ TOSOS Presents Our House / 

Ulster American

Through May 10 at the Irish Repertory Theatre

(132 W. 22nd St. btw. 6th & 7th Aves.)

For tickets ($55 – $125), click here

“A theatrical hand grenade disguised as a drawing-room comedy” is exactly what you can count on, when that bold claim–applied to playwright David Ireland’s satirical comedy– comes from the hardly-prone-to-hyperbole folks at Chelsea’s Irish Repertory Theatre. 

All hell and then some is going to break loose–but you won’t find the slightest whiff of sulfer it at at the outset of Ulster American. What begins as a cordial meeting between Ulster-born playwright Ruth Davenport (Geraldine Hughes), English director Leigh Carver (Max Baker), and Hollywood star Jay Conway (Matthew Broderick) will soon turn into “a brutal psychological brawl as egos, ideologies, and historical baggage collide.” Directing the U.S. Premiere is Irish Rep Co-Founder and Producing Artistic Director Ciarán O’Reilly. Having held directorial reigns for past Irish Rep presentations including 2016’s Shining City (whose cast included Broderick), O’Reilly knows a thing or two about surveying the damage done by simmering things brought to a boil. One thing’s for sure: Anyone left standing after that operning scene’s meeting won’t object when they find the schedule for tomorrow’s rehearsal  (the play’s first!) has no trust exercises…

Through May 10 (no performances March 21-28). At the Irish Repertory Theatre (132 W. 22nd St. btw. 6th & 7th Aves.) on the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage. Runtime: 1 hour, 30 minutes (no intermission). For tickets ($55 – $125), click here or visit the Box Office (Mon.-Sat., 12pm-6pm; Sun., 12pm-5pm; call 212.727.2737; email boxoffice@irishrep.org).

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Molly “Equality” Dykeman: Bushes are Bloomin’

Sunday, March 14, 5pm

At The Stonewall Inn

(53 Christopher St. at 7th Ave.)

Pop a cold one, spend an hour with Molly “Equality” Dykeman, and you’ll never look at poetry–or lady parts; or strategic squatting; or the comedy gold mined from epic fails–quite the same way, ever again. That’s our promise to adventurous audiences who make a March 14 journey up the steep stairs that spill out onto The Stonewall Inn’s second floor theater space.

That iconic Christopher Street bar–which knows a thing or two about shaking things up—is once again poised to poke the bear,  by rousong Molly Dykeman (the cult fave comedic persona of Andrea Alton) from her alcohol-induced hibernation. It’s a safe bet that Molly’s been snoozing since her last gig at the Stonewall. That would be December 6, 2025’s Tis the Season to be Molly Jolly!, in whicvh Molly’s Christmas wish for an epic party to launch her poetry collection goes–as these things always do–horribly, horribly wrong. But true to form, our big-hearted good time gal refused to let that personal setback prevent the show from going on. Armed only with a few deeply disapointing door prizes and a savant’s gift for copnjuring words that rhyme with thew female anatomy, Molly saved the day in a very satisfying, consistently hilarious, manner.

So that’s the kind of reformed train wrech one can expect on March 14, from the most lovable, low-performing security guard ever to occasionally show up for work at PS339  in the Bronx. Gird your loins, folks, because there’s no telling what level of lunacy awaits when Molly embarks on an all-new, somewhat-scripted, effectively improvised flight of fancy.

Also along for the ride will be Allen Warnock, whose sharp and spacy style provides Molly with a custom-made comedic foil. Drag star Pissi Myles also adds to the unpredictable alchemy–and don’t be surprised if you suddenly find yourself up on the stage, pulled into the cast’s off-kilter orbit  What are you waitig for? Get your ($22) tickets now, via SpinCycleNYC.com. And see the below flyer for a whiff of unhinged things to come…

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TOSOS (“The Other Side of Silence”)

Presents the World Premiere of

Barry Boehm’s “Our House”

Directed by Mark Finley

Starring Christopher Borg, Tim Burke, CJ DiOrio, Jalen Ford, Nancy Slusse, & Jon Spano

At A.R.T./New York Theatres

(502 W. 53rd St., off 10th Ave.)

Wed. through Sat. at 7pm; Sun. at 2pm

Through March 21

Tickets ($45 – $70) are available at www.tososnyc.org 

Note: The following is a collection of excerpts from an interview published by LGBTQCommunityNews.nyc on March 5, 2026. To access the complete interview, Click Here.

Two baskets brimming with black walnuts thrown at the hollyhocks, hot tub, and rainbow flag of ACT UP veteran Andy and husband Stanley soak the opening scene of Our House with ample cause for concern. Enough to cast a pall over the impending wedding of young couple Brendan and Eugene?

Perhaps. But be that as it may, the greatest threat to safety  won’t come from outside forces or problems particular to gay identity. It’s the cascade of surface-breaching secrets that gives Barry Boehm’s two-act comedy its messy forward momentum.

“I love family dramas,” said Mark Finley, when asked what made him want to direct the world premiere of Our House. “And I think this sets up a family drama that’s a little bit unusual,” noted Finley, of the play that takes place ithe year before marriage equality is recognized by the Supreme Court.

Finley is right to position Our House as “a little bit unusual” when viewed alongside the totality of output from TOSOS (The Other Side of Silence), TOSOS was founded in 1974 by, their website note, Off-Off Broadway veteran playwright Doric Wilson, cabaret star Billy Blackwell, and writer-actor-director Peter del Valle, for the purpose of pursuing “an open and honest exploration of the many expressions of the gay life style…and a broadening of gay and straight attitudes through the creative process.” Three years and 21 productions later–with “artistic director Doric Wilson’s bartending tips no longer able to cover expenses”–TOSOS ceased to be.

Then, in 2002, sole surviving founder Wilson paired with director Finley to form TOSOS II. The revived company (which has long since dropped the “II”) would go on to present a flurry of acclaimed plays, cabarets, and staged readings–many of them drawing upon works by Wilson, who passed away in 2011.

“We have that sort of a legacy and historical gay cannon,” notes Finely, “and we’re always sort of pointing to historical issues in the plays that we do.” But there’s an equal commitment to the contemporary–and the future. To that end, says Finley, “In our next season, [number] 27,  I’m going to be sliding down the bench and working with an interim artistic director, Igor Golden. And his focus is to broaden our reach, generationally. We don’t want to lose the upcoming generation by just focusing too much on ours.”

Says Finley of current offering Our House, “We’re always trying to look at stories that are sort of off the beaten track. And this is the story of a couple that lived in New York during the ACT UP days, and moved back to one of their family homes in Iowa–and the neighborhood has certainly changed from when they grew up…and then you’ve got two kids who’ve come to Iowa to get married. They could have gotten married in D.C. but they didn’t. Why?”

The playwright and director’s resolve to let things simmer and swirl rather than force them to a showy boiling point may well send audiences back into the world slightly disoriented–but better suited to contemplate a multitude of loose ends.

“What we discovered during rehearsal is,” says Finley, “it does not play if you lean into a sense of danger or too far into the comedy. You really have to lean into the strength of your characters…How they leave the room tells you what they’re going to do–that’s theater.”

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