Frank McCourt News

The month-long Origin 1st Irish Theatre Festival, the world's only festival devoted to producing the plays of contemporary Irish playwrights from around the world, runs four weeks from January 7 to February 3, 2020. A total 15 events, including seven mainstage productions from Belfast, Dublin, Wexford, and Manhattan and Queens, will be seen in- and out-of-competition. Among the productions, three are American premieres; two are world premieres. 15 contemporary Irish writers are represented with work in the Festival.

Just in time for the holiday season, the Emmy® nominated animated special ANGELA'S CHRISTMAS is now available on DVD and digital download in the U.S. The half-hour holiday film is based on the popular and only children's story from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Frank McCourt.

The critically acclaimed Irish production of Angela's Ashes - The Musical will make its UK premiere this autumn, playing the Ashcroft Theatre at Croydon's Fairfield Halls from Tuesday 24 September - Saturday 5 October, with a press night on Wednesday 25 September.

Hachette Audio is proud to announce that it is publishing Alphie McCourt's posthumous final collection, THE SOULSWIMMER, in April 2019, as an audiobook read by NYC-based performer Joe Hurley and others. Alphie McCourt, the youngest of the literary McCourt family first made famous through his brother Frank's Pulitzer Prize-winning Angela's Ashes, had a fruitful relationship with Hachette Audio in the latter years of his life, as he reflected on stories that spanned experience from Ireland to the US.

The Shed, New York City's new arts center dedicated to commissioning, develops, and presents original works of art, across all disciplines, for all audiences, will open to the public on April 5 with the world premiere of Soundtrack of America. The five-night concert series, conceived and directed by Steve McQueen with a creative team led by Quincy Jones and Maureen Mahon, celebrates the unrivaled impact of African American music on contemporary culture with performances by a new generation of artists. A free live stream of the April 5 concert will be available on The Shed's website, TheShed.org, and its social media channels.

An Irish Cultural Festival brings a celebration of Irish dance, song, and storytelling to the Gateway Playhouse today, June 16. A dance performance by the Emerald Isle Academy of Irish Dance takes place from 4 to 5 pm, and a concert by songstress Mary Courtney and champion storyteller Marianne McShane follows at 7 pm. Tickets, which include admission to all performances that day, are $35 and $30, depending upon the seat selected. A wine and beer bar featuring local products will be available for an additional charge to patrons 21 years of age and older.

An Irish Cultural Festival brings a celebration of Irish dance, song, and storytelling to the Gateway Playhouse on Saturday, June 16. A dance performance by the Emerald Isle Academy of Irish Dance takes place from 4 to 5 pm, and a concert by songstress Mary Courtney and champion storyteller Marianne McShane follows at 7 pm. Tickets, which include admission to all performances that day, are $35 and $30, depending upon the seat selected. A wine and beer bar featuring local products will be available for an additional charge to patrons 21 years of age and older.

Irish dancer Tristan MacManus to headline DANCE TO THE MOVIES with the Boston Pops

The Shed's Artistic Director and CEO Alex Poots today unveiled the first group of commissions for the 2019 inaugural season in its future home on Manhattan's west side, and provided major updates about the organization's leadership, program, and capital campaign. New York City's first arts center dedicated to commissioning, producing, and presenting new work across the performing arts, visual arts, and popular culture, The Shed will open to the public in spring 2019 with commissioned programs filling its iconic and expansive multi-use hall, two floors of column-free galleries, and versatile and intimate theater.

The Warner Stage Company will present Frank McCourt's THE IRISH…AND HOW THEY GOT THAT WAY, a musical celebration of Irish heritage filled to the brim with humor, stories and heart, in the Nancy Marine Studio Theatre March 10-18. Due to popular demand, an additional performance has been added onThursday, March 15 at 8 pm. Slainte! 

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with Greater Boston Stage Company at The Irish and How They Got That Way, created by Pulitzer Prize winning author, Frank McCourt (Angela's Ashes). This musical revue is a celebration of a heritage that confronts adversity with determination, good humor, and a love of life. McCourt's wit, insight and boundless love for the Irish are underscored by music extending from the auld Irish folk ballads to World War II standards, and beyond. Directed by Dawn Simmons, performances run March 8 - 25, 2018. The Press Opening is Saturday, March 10, 2018 at 3:00pm.

The nationally regarded Fulton Theatre is proud to present this jovial celebration of The Irish And How They Got That Way, January 23 now extended through February 25. Join us for a fun-filled time as we explore the ways of the Irish and how they have fit into the tapestry of America over the past 150 years.

The nationally regarded Fulton Theatre is proud to present this jovial celebration of The Irish And How They Got That Way, January 23 now extended through February 25. Join us for a fun-filled time as we explore the ways of the Irish and how they have fit into the tapestry of America over the past 150 years.

The Warner Stage Company will present Frank McCourt's THE IRISH AND HOW THEY GOT THAT WAY, a musical celebration of Irish heritage filled to the brim with humor, stories and heart, in the Nancy Marine Studio Theatre March 10-18, 2018.

Academy Award & Tony Award-nominee and Golden Globe Award-winning actress & director Kathleen Turner headlined The International Human Rights Art Festival on Sunday, October 15 at 7:30pm at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn

The International Human Rights Art Festival (www.IHRAF.org), slated to premiere a new body of activist work at Saint Mary's Church in NYC on Sunday, October 15th, headlined by Oscar- and Tony Award-nominated actress, activist and film icon Kathleen Turner, was censored by Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Saint Mary's Church last evening, just 72 hours before the show was supposed to go up.

Academy Award and Tony Award nominee and Golden Globe Award-winning actress and director Kathleen Turner will headline The International Human Rights Art Festival on Sunday, October 15 at 7:30pm at The Grand Hall at Saint Mary Church (440 Grand Street).

The International Human Rights Art Festival joins with activist theatre Culture Project to inaugurate its new space in New York's Lower East Side, with an evening of dance, music, comedy, storytelling, and theatre. The evening is headlined by award-winning actress and advocate Kathleen Turner, and will raise social concerns and offer positive solutions with humor, insight, and artistic talent.

"The All Night Strut will transport you to a time when life was happier, and the fun was the music. This show will prove that it is still about the music. The audience will go nuts for the production; they will eat it alive and want more and more of it." Curt Dale Clark knows from whence he speaks. The actor, director, author, and Artistic Director of Maine State Music Theatre has had the benefit of performing this songbook of the1930s,1940s, and 1950s in four prior productions, and he is confident that Maine audiences are going to love the production. "It is similar to The Irish," he says of last year's award-winning, sold-out collaboration, Frank McCourt's play The Irish and How They Got That Way, "in that the footprint exists for the show. Different actors populate it each time, but the end result is always the same. It is a huge hit!"