BWW Interviews: A Chat With Playwright Claude Solnik

Lady from Limerick is an up and coming play by playwright Claude Solnik. The story, based on actual events, is about an Irish woman who tells her husband that she's going to a conference but instead travels to New York. It is a play about beauty, passion, betrayal and the desire to be young forever.

Performances are April 17th through 19th at 8pm at The Theater For New City (155 First Ave. (9th-10th Sts.) under the direction of Rayelle Bradley. The cast includes Deborah Kruel Rupy, John Moore, Daniel Schinina, Brooke Turner and Dean Scott Schildkraut.

I have the pleasure of speaking with Claude Solnik today as performance and currently underway in NYC...

Thank you for joining me today! Please tell me about yourself and Lady from Limerick...

I'm a journalist who has worked at weeklies for many years. I cover healthcare and various other beats for Long Island Business News. But in addition to studying journalism, I got a master's degree in dramatic writing from New York University. I went back to journalism after graduating, but continued writing plays. Most recently, a play I wrote about Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for President, was performed in Northport. Victoria Woodhull is the story of a very tough, aggressive woman who ran for the nation's highest office, before women could even vote. Lady from Limerick is about a very different type of woman, someone who aspires, but more quietly. The story is based on Kathleen Cregan, a woman from Limerick, Ireland, who saw an article in a newspaper about a Park Avenue, NY, plastic surgeon. The article said he had done work for famous people - but traveled around the world, bringing his skills to clients. She followed her dream - in this case to disaster - but I think she's an admirable person who took action and was willing to travel far to get what she wanted.

Why this story? It seems so captivating!

I saw the story as tragic in the classic sense: A good impulse, intention, and action leads to terrible consequences. It reminds us that the world isn't as simple as the good are rewarded. I saw in Kathleen Cregan a woman who was willing to do what she thought it took to get what she wanted. And things went so wrong. I also felt that healthcare is the big news story of the day. But what about plays? What about theater? Theater captured what it was like when AIDS hit. I think that this is a good time to tell stories related to healthcare. We're already focused on the subject. But we rarely look at the reality, the lives, and what goes wrong. We focus on how wonderful our healthcare is. And a lot of it is. But I thought this story told us about what can go wrong.

And I was interested in the relationships, the husband, wife, son - and doctor. I think there is something almost sacred about our relationship to the doctor. In our society, doctors, even if they're harried, are powerful. They make life and death decisions daily. So how do we treat them? How do they treat us? They aren't gods. We need to be partners with them. When we turn our lives over to them, we're entirely vulnerable. They can save us or scar us. I just felt this was a little bit of a wake-up call. We couldn't depend more or know less about most of our doctors. Maybe that should change.

I'm always interested in the process. Please tell me about the journey of this show...

That's a great question. It started at my parents' kitchen table, where I read an article in The New York Times. I took it with me. The fact that I couldn't forget it meant it affected me. It wasn't that I couldn't let go. It was as if the story wasn't letting go of me. I wrote the play relatively quickly and then rewrote. I met Crystal Field, who runs Theater for the New City, at a reunion of The Villager and Downtown Express, papers where I worked. We talked about another play first. Eventually, she agreed to let me pick and present a play there as a co-production with TNC, which is (to me) a legendary venue. Sam Shepard's "Buried Child" debuted there. They have a big Halloween party every year. But to me, theatrical ghosts haunt the place as part of its history and present.

I contacted a director who had done a one act I wrote. We began casting. The first problem: The characters are Irish. They speak with a Brogue. Someone told me that I could rewrite it, so they're not from Ireland. Set it in the United States. More actors could play the roles. We did a reading of the play with Irish characters and then without brogue. When we dropped Irish accents and made the characters from Nebraska, nothing made sense. It was boring, not interesting. I told the actors to try the Irish accent again. It came to life. There was something about the joy, the life, and the luck of the Irish, the exuberance that made this even more interesting. The collision becomes more dramatic.

We cast at various places, including libraries and houses. In the process, two actors suggested a scene between the mother and soon. I said I liked the idea. Why not improvise? They improvised. That scene is now my favorite, and maybe the best, scene in the play. John Moore, who's of Irish heritage, plays the husband. We talked and came up with a new, much better beginning. Actors can be helpful as writers. They don't just read the lines or perform them. With a new play, they help create and shape it. Once we had the full cast, we began rehearsing in various houses. We didn't have much of a budget, though. I bought a priest costume from Party City. Most were sold out. There seems to be a real interest in dressing up like a priest on Long Island. I had to go to three stores to find that. I also got a doctor's outfit there. How would we get a set? I was able to get Philip Jordan, a great set designer, to work with us. And we have a beautiful set. I wanted to make the set as realistic as possible, though. I was able to get a hospital to lend me a few items, so we could create a realistic hospital room. TNC has a huge prop and costume warehouse. It's a magical place for me. We walked around, picking out props and furniture, a phone, a candy dish, a couch, a stretcher on wheels that could spin. And pretty soon, we had the physical world. Moving the set from Long Island, though, was complicated.

I rented a U-Haul (It cost about $125 for a day, not $19.99: That rate's with expensive mileage). A friend of mine helped me pick up the set and move it to my garage. Then I rented the U-Haul and drove it into the city, where I assembled it in the theater. It looked great. I remember seeing the world in front of me. We created Ireland. We created a hospital room. We did it suggestively, creatively, but with some real items. I was watching an imaginary world come to life. Meanwhile, we've been getting the word out with business card ads designed by Ed Camp, a talented graphic designer. And we've had write ups in various papers, including papers in Hicksville and Smithtown. The Irish Echo did a piece about a play based on a story that made news. The Irish Arts Center sent out an email blast. I've been amazed at how helpful people are when you have a specific project. Now we're about to open. We're finalizing details, putting it all together - music, lights, performance. John Moore, who plays the husband, also plays harmonica. He plays during the show. But not as much as I'd like. Every time I hear him play, I think how wonderful music is. But then I watch the play and realize that's imagination as much as the notes.

Who is the creative team comprised of?

Rayelle Bradley is director; Jelani Eastmond designed lights with help Jason Fok and some assistance from Alex Vartanian. And Theater for the New City provides some help and support as well. They supplied us with furniture, props etc.

Please tell me about the stunning cast...

Deborah Rupy plays the lady, while John Moore is her husband. Daniel Schinina is their son. And Dean Scott Schildkraut plays the doctor. He does a monologue - very powerful. He makes it sound written a lot better than it is. Most are constantly doing plays. They are very experienced. John Moore's a traffic engineer who began acting much later in life.

What is next for you and Lady from Limerick?

Another show I wrote, Victoria Woodhull, just closed in Northport. I hope TNC's happy with how Lady from Limerick goes. Then I hope I'll be able to present more shows there. Possibly Victoria Woodhull, about the first woman to run for President. It's got a big cast, which makes it complicated. I've also got other plays I'm interested in doing. I spent years doing readings of scripts in libraries. I look at those as assets. I hope they have value. Maybe we'll find out.

Photo by Bob Giglione: Dean Scott Schildkraut and Deborah Kruel Rupy in Lady From Limerick