Long a fan of Irish Repertory Theater, this is my second attendance at one of its annual galas. Charlotte Moore and Ciarán O’Reilly know how to throw a party. One might roast marshmallows on warmth emanating from this stage. The production runs as smoothly as a successful Broadway show.
Both now producing artistic directors (he occasionally still acts), Moore and O’Reilly met as thespians in Hugh Leonard’s Summer at Hudson Guild Theater. Discovering unusual like mindedness, they decided to found an Irish theater. (My 2016 piece on the origins of Irish Rep.) Board Chair Kathleen Begala welcomes us to the 36th Annual Gala eloquently citing theater art as “an essential service of the spirit.”
Ciarán O’Reilly, John Gardiner, Charlotte Moore
This year’s Visionary Leadership Award goes to Dublin son, John Gardiner who came to New York in 1987. In addition to being a highly respected international lawyer, Gardiner is a committed supporter of cultural institutions, providing “essential stewardship…” on the Board of Irish Rep since 2013. A video montage is familial. Gardiner’s wry identical twin inserts onscreen quips. In fact, it’s his twin who first appears to accept this award – then shooed away by the charming honoree.
The twins’ prank
An overture of Morrison’s songs is followed by one of his most familiar, “Moondance,” as rendered by Broadway star, Kate Baldwin. Striking in shamrock green, the artist seduces. Open-throated performance is clear, pithy, and long-lined. Horns weave. Tonight’s chorus then performs “Irish Heartbeat,” a song written in collaboration with traditional Irish folk band, The Chieftans, when in search for his roots: Don’t rush away/Rush away from your own ones/Just one more day/One more day with your own ones…
Kate Baldwin, Myles Frost, Ciarán Sheehan
Myles Frost, sunglass-wearing star of the musical MJ (Michael Jackson), offers “Bright Side of the Road” moving across the stage with the swivel/slide fluidity of the character he plays. What, no moonwalk? Former Phantom of the Opera, Ciarán Sheehan, sings “Into the Mystic” as if his powerful tenor-with-an-edge is literally propelled by the music. Step, tap, step, tap, he fist-bumps the orchestra.
Jonathan Christopher, Kathryn and Peter Gallagher
Used in seven major films, “Someone Like You” is presented by the appealing Jonathan Christopher (and chorus). The vocalist is understated, soulful. He leans out, connecting with audience. Every lyric emerges honest and smooooth. “If I Ever Needed Someone” arrives gospel in feeling by way of father and daughter, Kathryn and Peter Gallagher. Kathryn’s voice slip/slides with emotion – even a sob – while Peter’s musical theater approach is grounded. An affectionate and talented duet.
Theater and cabaret artist Melissa Errico sings “The Way Young Lovers Do” which starts ethereal, then whooshes past an open sluice with tandem, solo sax: …we sat on our own star/And dreamed of the way that I was for you/And you were for me. It’s musically an odd tune, but Errico knows her way around a love song.
Melissa Errico; MIchael Cerveris; Nik Walker
“Days Like This” speaks to a collective longing for one idyllic day when the absence of division becomes a symphony of harmony,” O’Reilly comments introducing Michael Cerveris and his folksy guitar: When it’s not always raining/There’ll be days like this/When there’s no one complaining/There’ll be days like this/…my mama told me/There’ll be days like this… “Who better than the Irish to remind us that poetry, music, and theater are the way out of dark times?” Cerveris rhetorically asks.
The chorus’s blended “Celtic Ray” precedes Nik Walker (and chorus’s) rendition of “Caravan” featured in the documentary The Last Waltz. Walker kneads the lyrics of this second Gospel-inspired song. His right hand punches, circles, swipes; his body bends and bumps. An evangelistic performance.
Gary Troy
Gary Troy (and chorus) deliver a Jerry-Lee-Lewis/Elvis-Presley interpretation of “Gloria” replete with hip, pelvis, and knee moves; kneaded, wailed lyrics, eruptive call-outs, and enthusiastic, audience participation. A highlight of the show, it evokes exuberant chair dancing.
Leading lady, Kelli O’Hara shimmers through “Have I Told You Lately?” (that I love you). Strings sway. The performer is a gowned heart with voice. Profound truth needs no ornamentation, little volume. It’s just lovely. Reeve Carney (and chorus) close the evening leading audience in “Brown Eyed Girl”: Sha la la la la la la la la la la dee dah the auditorium sings. With reputation based in theater, Carney nonetheless exhibits the attitude, rhythm and lilted phrasing of an appreciator of soft rock.
Kelli O’Hara; Reeve Carney
Why Van Morrison? I ask O’ Reilly “It was an honor. For more than six decades, Van Morrison has laid his Celtic soul bare and the world is the grateful recipient. Though born and raised in troubled times in Northern Ireland, his genius flew above the bloody riffs. Universal themes of love and longing brought solace to the heart on all sides. In our current polarized world, who better to hear?”
Van Morrison performing in Newcastle, Northern Ireland on August 23, 2015
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Event Photos by James Francis Bourke Bourke
All proceeds support Irish Repertory Theatre and our mission to provide a context for understanding the contemporary Irish-American experience through evocative works of theater, music, and dance.
Comhghairdeachas! (Congratulations!)
A Marvelous Night: Irish Rep Celebrates the Music of Van Morrison
Gala Chairman – Kieran McLoughlin
Evening Arranged by Charlotte Moore and Ciarán O’Reilly
MD/Conductor – John Bell
Orchestrations: Josh Clayton, Benjamin Edelson, Tim Laciano, Gary Adler
Irish Repertory Theatre
132 West 22nd Street
NEXT: Monday June 23, 2025 at 7:00 pm
Féile Bród (Pride Fest), annual Pride celebration showcasing the work of LGBTQIA+ Irish and Irish-American artists.
The Weir by Conor McPherson, Directed by Ciarán O’Reilly
July 9-August 31
The Town Hall
123 West 43rd Street
June 9, 2025
