Review: THE IRISH CURSE at Broadwater Black Box Theatre

Martin Cassella’s “The Irish Curse” first debuted off Broadway in 2010, winning the Outstanding Playwriting Award at the New York Fringe Festival. Now titled THE IRISH CURSE 2.0: THE DIVERSE CURSE (REVISED VERSION), the show has been retooled and, clearly by the extended name, made diverse, because the affliction at the center of the story affects men of all types.

One rainy September evening in 2016 New York, five men meet in a church basement to discuss the titular curse, a support group for men with small — exceedingly small — penises and how the burden affects them, their relationships, and their self-confidence. Led by Father Kevin (Stephen Bridgewater), a sometime actor, Rick (Levi Jacobs), a skater from Staten Island who is studying sports medicine, Stephen (Adonis Williams), a Black gay cop with intimacy issues, and Joseph (Kevin M. Walsh), an uptight middle-aged lawyer, welcome a new member: Kieran (Jake Montgomery), a twentysomething, actual Irishman, who is on the eve of his nuptials. As the night progresses, the meeting becomes a powder keg of revelations, confidences, and explosive testosterone.

Cassella’s script isn’t, of course, just about physical size of a man’s member. It asks what it means to be a man. To what degree do men gauge their masculinity by the size of their penis? How does the size of one’s phallus affect a man’s self-esteem, define his life, his manhood (so to speak)? And while no concrete answers are proffered — each man must come to those himself — just posing the topic opens up the mind, because no matter a man’s size, large or small, it affects him. And with toxic masculinity so prevalent these days, this is a topic that is still not addressed openly. If it were, perhaps the world would be a better place.

Director Steve Chivers is assured, letting the energy ebb and flow in a natural rhythm, balancing the stormy night with quiet moments of intimacy and reflection. Each character is well-drawn, no one is a “type,” all are distinct and reveal layers organically through conversation. The actors are instinctive and powerful. Jacobs is charismatic yet cocky as Rick, Williams closed-off and volatile as Stephen, Walsh nervous and squirrelly as Joseph-not-Joey, Montgomery as green, confused Kieran, and Bridgewater as the kindly priest with a secret. Each is charismatic in his own way, owning the stage without demanding it, and each is given many chances to shine.

The show has glimmers of humor in addition to the deep processing taking place and while it plumbs some darkness, it also offers the promise of hope. It’s provocative and profound, and in the end is a moving exploration of masculinity, brotherhood, and how one commonality can erase race, age, and socioeconomic lines to find connection.

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