GOOD VIBRATIONS US Premiere to be Presented at Irish Arts Center This Summer

Irish Arts Center will present the U.S. premiere of the Lyric Theatre, Belfast's Good Vibrations: A Punk Rock Musical, written by Colin Carberry and Glenn Patterson, based on their BAFTA-nominated film of the same name, and directed by Des Kennedy (Harry Potter & the Cursed Child) (June 14-July 9; opening June 18). Produced by the Lyric Theatre, Belfast, recently named Best Theatre at the U.K. Stage Awards 2023, this five-week U.S. premiere presentation marks the first musical and largest-scale theatrical offering ever presented by Irish Arts Center. Good Vibrations, which celebrates the power of music to bring people together, arrives in New York during a year of commemorations of the historic Good Friday Agreement. With its boundless energy and eruptive theatricality, the production activates the expanded artistic canvas provided by the state-of-the-art flexible theatre at the new Irish Arts Center.

Featuring a 12-person cast of actor-singer-musicians, Good Vibrations chronicles the story of the beloved titular record-store/label-which served as a musical haven and inspiration during the sectarian strife of 1970s Belfast-through the songs of punk rock legends like The Undertones, the Outcasts, and Stiff Little Fingers (including, respectively, "Teenage Kicks," "Just Another Teenage Rebel," and "Alternative Ulster"). It follows Terri Hooley (Glen Wallace), the real-life radical, rebel, and music-lover, who, when the Troubles shut down his city and his friends take sides, opens a record shop. He becomes the unlikely leader of a motley band of kids who join his mission to create a new community, an alternative Ulster, and bring his hometown back to life.

Good Vibrations' ensemble cast includes Cat Barter as Marilyn Hyndman, Connor Burnside as Billy Doherty, Darren Franklin as Dave, Marty Maguire as George Hooley, Odhrán McNulty as Ronnie Matthews, Chris Mohan as Graham 'Getty' Marshall, Christina Nelson as Mrs. Hooley and Mrs. Sharkey, Jolene O'Hara as Polly, Gavin Peden as Brian Young, Dylan Reid as Feargal Sharkey/Greg Cowan, Glen Wallace as Terri Hooley, and Jayne Wisener as Ruth Carr.

The creative team includes Katie Richardson (Musical Director), Jennifer Rooney (Choreographer), Grace Smart (Set Designer), Gillian Lennox (Costume Designer), Jack Knowles (Lighting Designer), Megan Joyce (Audio Engineer), Barry McCusker (Live Sound Engineer), Aidan Payne (Set Carpenter), Ian Vennard (Production Technician: Sound/Lighting), Simon Bird (Production Manager), and Stephen Dix (Deputy Stage Manager/Props).

Good Vibrations was met with rave reviews and sold-out performances when it made its world premiere in 2018 at Lyric Theatre, Belfast. The Irish Times said, "The full-throated spirit of punk is alive and roaring" in this "glorious" production. The Irish News described audiences "losing their hearts to [the] fascinating character" of Terri Hooley. The Belfast Telegraph described, "Joy may be a surprising word to describe a bunch of pogo-ing punks playing their 100-mile-an-hour music, but it's the right word to describe the atmosphere at the Lyric for the opening night of Good Vibrations."

Now, that same energy is brought across the Atlantic to Irish Arts Center-based in New York City and renowned for presenting dynamic, inspiring, collaborative experiences of the evolving arts and culture of Ireland and Irish America in an environment of warm Irish hospitality. With their state-of-the-art new home (726 11th Avenue), the organization has this season draws on the capacity and flexibility of its new theatre to bring provocative, thoughtful, and inventive work across a range of disciplines to New York audiences-with the explosion of energy that is Good Vibrations at the very heart of this effort.

About Lyric Theatre, Belfast

The Lyric Theatre is a playhouse for everyone to enjoy. It's a creative hub for theatre-making, a safe space for nurturing talent, and embodies an unwavering passion for creating meaningful connections through theatre and the arts. We've always done things a little differently at the Lyric. From its modest beginnings in 1968, this special place has been a springboard for internationally acclaimed playwrights, poets and actors. As Northern Ireland's only full-time theatre to produce its own productions from page to stage, we care deeply about maintaining a high-quality, diverse and inclusive programme that captures the imaginations of our audiences, leaving them changed, charged and empowered.

About Irish Arts Center

Irish Arts Center, founded in 1972 and based in Hell's Kitchen, New York City, is a home for artists and audiences of all backgrounds who share a passion or appreciation for the evolving arts and culture of contemporary Ireland and Irish America. IAC presents, develops, and celebrates work from established and emerging artists and cultural practitioners, providing audiences with emotionally and intellectually engaging experiences-fueled by collaboration, innovation, adventurousness, authenticity, and the celebration of our common humanity, in an environment of Irish hospitality. Steeped in grassroots traditions, IAC also provides community education programs and access to the arts for people of all ages and ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds. In an historic partnership of the people of Ireland and New York, Irish Arts Center recently opened a state-of-the-art new facility to support this mission for the 21st century.

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