The Off-Broadway return of The Dead, 1904 officially opened November 26, and the reviews are rolling in.
Starring Úna Clancy and Mary Beth Peil, the immersive adaptation is presented by the Irish Repertory Theatre and Dot Dot Productions, in association with The American Irish Historical Society.
The adaptation of James Joyce’s The Dead is from Pulitzer Prize-winning Irish poet Paul Muldoon and novelist Jean Hanff Korelitz. Directed by Irish Rep Co-founder Ciarán O’Reilly, the production is a limited engagement through January 5, 2025.
The play follows a holiday gathering on January 6, 1904, the Feast of the Epiphany, in the Dublin home of two elderly sisters, Kate and Julia Morkan, and their niece, Mary Jane. At the party are students, friends, a celebrated tenor, a lost alcoholic, and the couple, Gabriel and Gretta Conroy. Over the course of an evening, there are conversations, music, dancing, dining, speeches, and disagreements.
Read the reviews below.
New York Stage Review (Steven Suskin)
New York Stage Review (Elysa Gardner)
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Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.
In addition to Clancy and Peil, the production stars Tony nominee Kate Baldwin (Hello, Dolly!) as Greta Conroy, Christopher Innvar (To Kill a Mockingbird) as Gabriel Conroy, violinist/fiddler Heather Bixler as Miss Daly, Terry Donnelly (Philadelphia, Here I Come!) as Mrs. Malins, Karen Killeen (One Night in Dublin) as Mary Jane, Michael Kuhn (Sweeney Todd) as Bartell D’Arcy, Aedin Moloney (Yes! Reflections of Molly Bloom) as Molly Ivors, Michael Mellamphy (The Smuggler) as Mr. Browne, Jodie Sweeney as Lily, and Gary Troy (The Irish...and How They Got That Way) as Freddy Malins.
The Dead, 1904 features choreography by Barry McNabb, costume design by Leon Dobkowski, lighting design by Michael Gottlieb, sound design by M. Florian Staab, and properties design by Deirdre Brennan. Michael Palmer is the production stage manager, Jade Doina is the assistant stage manager, Mark Hartman is the musical consultant, and Maxwell Paris is the wardrobe supervisor. Casting is by Geoff Josselson.
The Dead, 1904—previously presented during the holiday seasons in 2016-2018—will be performed to an audience of 48 people a night at The American Irish Historical Society, traveling over three floors of the building, which has been restored to period decoration. A holiday meal, created by Great Performances, will also be served.
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