You Don’t Have To Be Irish To Love GBSC’s ‘The Irish And How They Got That Way’

March 6, 2025March 6, 2025 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

The cast of GBSC’s ‘The Irish And How They Got That Way’

Greater Boston Stage Company presents ‘The Irish And How They Got That Way’ by Frank McCourt. Original Music Arrangements by Rusty Magee. Directed by A. Nora Long. Music Director Kirsten Salpini. Scenic Design by Jeremy Barnett. Lighting Design by Amanda Fallon. Costume Design by Emily Woods Hogue. Sound Design by John Stone. At Greater Boston Stage Company, 395 Main Street, Stoneham, MA, through March 16, 2025.

By Linda Chin

Like the iconic (and remarkably inclusive for the 1960s & 70s) ad campaign that New Yorkers of a certain vintage will fondly recall – featuring photo portraits of a young African American boy, Chinese man, Italian nonna, Native American elder, White (Irish?) cop, enjoying sandwiches with Levy’s Real Jewish Rye – you don’t have to be Irish to love the Greater Boston Stage Company’s production of The Irish and How They Got That Way.”

GBSC Brings Magic with “THE IRISH AND HOW THEY GOT THAT WAY”

March 22, 2018April 2, 2018 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

By Sheila Barth

BOX INFO: Greater Boston Stage Company adds a wee bit o’ green and Irish charm in Pulitzer Prize winner Frank McCourt’s play, directed by Dawn Simmons, through March 25: Wednesdays, Sundays,2 p.m.; Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.; Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 3,8 p.m. $50-$60; seniors, $45-$55; students with valid ID, $20. 395 Main St., Stoneham. 781-279-2200, greaterbostonstage.org.

’Twas an Irish song and story fest when I saw Mynnelou Productions Inc. and the Bernann Company, LLC’s rollicking production of Frank McCourt’s “The Irish and How They Got That Way,” five years ago, in Somerville.

That production was so successful, it was extended for another week, by popular demand. The upbeat, two-hour, two-act, potpourri of Irish traditional, folk and contemporary songs and music accompanying the ensemble’s re-telling of Ireland and Irish-American history through their energetic comic anecdotes and skits, made Irish and non-Irish eyes smile at Davis Square Theater.

Dark History Lesson Runs Through GBSC’s Lively “The Irish and How They Got That Way””

March 20, 2018March 20, 2018 Theater MirrorLeave a comment

by Mike Hoban

The Irish and How They Got That Way – Book by Frank McCourt; Directed by Dawn M. Simmons; Music Direction by Kirsten Salpini; Original musical arrangements by Rusty Magee; Additional musical arrangements by Kirsten Salpini; Presented by special arrangement with The Irish Repertory Theatre Company, Inc. by the Greater Boston Stage Company at 395 Main St, Stoneham Through March 25^th

Anyone who utters the phrase “the Luck of the Irish” might want to take a closer look at history and reconsider its usage, as the Greater Boston Stage Company’s production of Frank McCourt’s The Irish and How They Got That Way clearly demonstrates. For all the adorable leprechauns and amusing anecdotes about excessive drinking that are associated with the Emerald Isle, there is also a rich vein of melancholy running through the saga of the Irish over the last few centuries, particularly the period that preceded their journey across the pond to America through the beginning of the twentieth century. Which is not to say that this production is in any way a downer. Quite the contrary, the six person (three men and three women) cast rips through a bevy of Irish tunes both familiar and obscure while generating both smiles and tears.