Milwaukee Irish Arts is once again the producer for all performances at The Theatre Pavilion at this year’s Milwaukee Irish Fest, the largest Irish festival in the country. We are also mounting a number of the productions for the festival. Your ticket to Irish Fest includes free entry to The Theatre Pavilion. Here are the entertaining shows to be presented this year Friday, August 16 through Sunday August 18:

The Quiet Land

Author: Malachy McKenna

Presented by Milwaukee Irish Arts

With a wonderful blend of humor and pathos, ‘The Quiet Land’ is a celebration of life, resilience and the endearing innocence of an exiled generation as it struggles to survive in the isolated rural Ireland of today. It’s a real test of their friendship and is the author’s heartfelt tribute to a rare breed of forgotten men who live ‘a long way in off the road’.

“This is no country for old men, such as Eamon and Nashee, in Malachy McKenna’s sensitive new play about a very Irish decline. Meeting each other at a gate between their farms, … Nashee and … Eamon seem to haul around a lifetime worth of baggage, some of which McKenna uses to all

Cast and Crew

Nashee (Ignatius) – John Gleeson
Eamon McConnell – Eamonn O'Neill
Director – James J Gallagher

Bloomsday

Author: Steven Dietz

Presented by Milwaukee Irish Arts

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

Robbie – Mitch Weindorf
Cathleen – April P-aul (awarded Best Supporting Femail Actor at AIITF 2019)
Robert - Kevin Callahan
Cait - Amy Callahan
Director – Lindsey Gagliano

Speranza – Mother of Oscar

Author: Joshephine Craven

Long before Oscar Wilde became a superstar, his mother, Jane Wilder, better known by her pen name Speranza was a celebrity in Ireland and far beyond. Jane was a poet who wrote incendiary poetry and essays condemning the famine and inciting rebellion against English rule in Ireland. Her literary salons were legendary as was her private and not-so-private life. Her brilliant but philandering husband, Dr. William Wilde’s relationship with Mary Travers cost Jane the humiliation of the most controversial libel case Dublin had ever seen. This play explores how Jane Wilde became Speranza beleaguered by whatever passed for paparazzi in her day, long before she influenced the genius in her son, Oscar.

Cast

Speranza – Josephine Craven
Director - Josephone Craven

The Waiting Room

Author: Kathy Oliva, presented by Wildflower Theatre

Whether have a baby, or acting like a baby, nothing guarantees it will move you to the front of the line.

Cast

Tiffany - Julie L. Zebleckis
Molly - Kathy Oliva
Bobby Bojangles - Martin Donovan
Director - Kathy Oliva

The McCrackens

Author: Julie L. Zebleckis, presented by Wildflower Theatre

Marital squabbles with your spouse or in-laws are bound to happen. Irish whiskey can soothe the pain.

Cast

Glenda - Julie L. Zebleckis
Mick - Martin Donovan
Agnes - Kathy Oliva
Director - Julie L. Zebleckis and Martin Donovan

Milwaukee Irish Fest Information:

To find the schedule of events at the Theatre Pavilion go here and chose Theatre Pavilion on the right: https://irishfest.com/Schedule.htm

For ticket information to Irish Fest go here:  https://irishfest.com/tickets.htm