Molly Sweeney
Opening Night: January 30, 2011
Closing: April 10, 2011
Theater: Irish Repertory Theatre
In Molly Sweeney, Ireland’s master storyteller Brian Friel (Dancing at Lughnasa, Translations, Philadelphia, Here I Come!) has devised a riveting contemporary drama about the terrible consequences of a medical miracle. Molly has sat in happy, capable, independent darkness since she was ten months old. When her husband, a restless, unemployed enthusiast makes her blindness his latest cause, he consults a once famous star surgeon who, despite being half drowned in Irish whiskey agrees to attempt to restore Molly’s sight.
BUY TICKETSREAD THE REVIEWS:
January 31, 2011
It takes two hours to watch “Molly Sweeney” at the Irish Repertory Theater. But you’ll spend much more time thinking about it afterward. A deeply moving meditation on hope, change and despair, it’s a compelling piece of theater, one in which the ending applause is only the beginning of the play’s effects.
READ THE REVIEWFebruary 1, 2011
The gift of sight might not be such a boon for a blind person, who would have difficulty physically and mentally processing what they were seeing. This dilemma is explored by Tony Award-winning playwright Brian Friel in his compassionate, bittersweet tragedy, "Molly Sweeney," that opened Sunday night in a potent revival at the Off-Broadway Irish Repertory Theatre.
READ THE REVIEW
February 2, 2011
Considering how well Brian Friel is known for his poetic voice, it’s a bit surprising that his Molly Sweeney is so decidedly undramatic. The Irish playwright serves up plenty of masterfully imagistic language in his 1994 play; problem is, it’s all delivered in the past tense via a trio of alternating monologues (a format he used to better effect in Faith Healer). Read more: Review: Molly Sweeney – Theater – Time Out New York http://newyork.timeout.com/arts-culture/theater/730131/review-molly-sweeney#ixzz1CpMe6ouw
READ THE REVIEW
January 31, 2011
Let’s quickly discard any notion that Brian Friel’s Molly Sweeney — now being revived at the Irish Repertory Theatre under Charlotte Moore’s skillful direction — is a play. Not that it matters, because Molly Sweeney is an entirely enthralling story told by three narrators in a two-act series of alternating monologues: Donegal habitue Molly Sweeney (Geraldine Hughes), her husband Frank (Ciaran O’Reilly), and local ophthalmologist-surgeon Mr. Rice (Jonathan Hogan).
READ THE REVIEWJanuary 30, 2011
My usual reaction to monologue plays is to think, "Why didn’t the author just write a novel?" If your characters aren’t going to interact, only telling us the story rather than living it, we might as well be reading it on a cozy couch with a nice cup of tea. Brian Friel’s "Molly Sweeney," which won the 1996 New York Drama Critics Circle Award as best foreign play, is the rare exception to this rule.
READ THE REVIEW