PRIDE OF PARNELL STREET Wins Nods For Best Production and Best Actress At 1st Irish 2009
By: Gabrielle Sierra Sep. 29, 2009
1 st Irish 2009, New York's all-Irish theatre festival, hosted its awards ceremony last night, at a cocktail reception at Hudson Terrace, 621 West 46th Street. Sebastian Barry's "The Pride of Parnell Street," which runs through Sunday at 59E59 Theaters, was the big winner, earning best production, as well as the best actress honor for Mary Murray. The ceremony, sponsored by the philanthropist Tina Santi Flaherty, who serves on the board of Origin Theatre Co., which co-ordinates festival, also recognized Ethan Hova (Best Actor in "Spinning the Times"), Tim Ruddy (Best Direction for "After Luke/When I Was God"), and Susan Zeeman Rogers (Best Design for "Is Life Worth Living?").
The festival's jury -- which included Jack Doulin (casting director of New York Theatre Workshop); the actress Xanthe Elbrick (Tony nominee for "Coram Boy"); the Mabou Mines artistic director Sharon Fogarty; the Irish Voice newspaper's arts editor Cahir Doherty; and Eileen Reilly, a professor at NYU's Glucksman Ireland House -- also presented a Jury Award for Special Achievement to Barbara Hammond, the writer of "Beyond the Pale," a site-specific play that transformed St. Peter's rectory in Chelsea into an Irish manor house.Produced by the Dublin-based Fishamble: The New Play Company, the New York premiere of "The Pride of Parnell Street," which also stars AiDan Kelly and is directed by Jim Culleton, was one of two productions that traveled here directly from Ireland. A number of the other productions by 21 contemporary Irish playwrights had Irish pedigrees. Several other productions traveled shorter distances -- from Philadelphia, Buffalo and the Bronx.Videos