Milwaukee Irish Arts is presenting its spring production “Bloomsday” by Steven Dietz. Robert returns to Dublin to reunite with Cait, the woman who captured his heart during a James Joyce literary tour thirty-five years ago. Dancing backwards through time, the older couple retrace their steps to discover their younger selves. Through young Robbie and Caithleen, they relive the unlikely, inevitable events that brought them—only briefly—together. This Irish time-travel love story blends wit, humor, and heartache into a buoyant, moving appeal for making the most of the present before it is past.

 

“Dietz’s keen wit and unusual format, and his compassion for his characters, make this special—more than the standard tale of an older couple reliving and (perhaps) reviving a lost love…With intricate cleverness, Dietz evokes, mocks, paraphrases and cannily integrates aspects of Joyce’s [Ulysses] into BLOOMSDAY…And Joyce’s manipulations of time and space, subject and object…ingeniously inform the script.” —Seattle Times.

 

“BLOOMSDAY is filled with sweet charm…Dietz’s convention of mixing the past with the present…works beautifully and when mixed with his signature rich characters makes for a wonderfully engaging time…there’s an honest and sobering realism to the piece that takes this beyond a simple romantic comedy and places it in the realm of a tragic love story…BLOOMSDAY gives us a funny, touching and stark look at what it is to be in love no matter what stage of life you’re in.” —BroadwayWorld.com.

 

“…an ode to the ache of regret…[Dietz] lure[s] us into thinking we’re getting something familiar in the first act, only to push us out of that comfort zone into a deeply moving meditation on lost time, on the painful dissonance that comes with memory.” —Memeteria.com

 

Cast:
Caithleen: April Paul
Robbie: Mitch Weindorf
Robert: Keven Callahan
Cait: Amy Callahan

Crew:
Director, Set and Sound Design: Lindsey Gagliano
Stage Manager: Libby Amato
Artistic Director: John Gleeson
Administration: Pam Kissinger

 

The play will be presented at CelticMKE on the following dates:

• Thursday, April 11 at 7:30 PM
• Friday, April 12 at 7:30 PM
• Saturday, April 13 at 1:00 PM
• Sunday, April 14 at 1:00 PM

 

CelticMKE is located at 1532 N Wauwatosa Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53213 (Map). There is parking right next door on Thursday and Friday evening. Street parking is available on Saturday and Sunday. There will be a bar open during the performances.

 

This is a “pay what you can” play. We are accepting donations of your choice to see this play. We ask that you register at our ticketing site – miabloomsday.eventbrite.com

 

Milwaukee Irish Arts will present this play at the Acting Irish International Theatre Festival in Listowel, Ireland on April 24. The play will also be presented at the Bangor Drama Club in Bangor, Ireland May 2 and 3.