Irish Rep's Immersive THE DEAD, 1904 Opens Tonight

Irish Repertory Theatre and Dot Dot Productions, in association with The American Irish Historical Society, present the world premiere of The Dead, 1904 - an immersive adaptation of James Joyce's classic story, "The Dead," adapted by the Pulitzer Prize winning Irish poet Paul Muldoon (Moy Sand and Gravel) and novelist Jean Hanff Korelitz (Admission, You Should Have Known).

Directed by Irish Rep co-founder Ciarán O'Reilly, The Dead, 1904 will run for seven weeks only. Previews began November 19th, 2016, with opening night set for tonight, December 8th, for a limited run through January 7th, 2017.

Joining previously announced three-time Emmy and Tony Award nominee Kate Burton will be four-time Tony Award winner Boyd Gaines (Gypsy, Contact), Patricia Kilgarriff (Steel Magnolias), Aedin Moloney (When I was a Girl I used to Scream and Shout), Peter Cormican (Rothschild & Sons), Barrie Kreinik (39 Steps), Terry Donnelly (Transport), James Russell (Shining City), Clare O'Malley (Creed), Heather Martin Bixler, Patti Perkins (The Full Monty), and Karl Scully (The Irish Tenors).

THE DEAD, 1904 will be staged in the c. 1900 townhouse of The American Irish Historical Society (991 Fifth Avenue, New York) on the Upper East Side for an audience of just 42 people per night. The production will travel over three floors of the building, which has been restored to period decoration. Rooms used will include the lobby, parlor, music room, dining room and upstairs library.

A holiday meal, inspired by descriptions of the feast in Joyce's story, will be created by Great Performances, one of the city's most celebrated caterers, and served to cast and audience alike in the townhouse's elegant dining room. Wine and water will be served with the meal.

THE DEAD, 1904 was adapted from the final novella in James Joyce's 1914 short story collection, Dubliners, and tells of a disillusioned man named Gabriel Conroy, who, along with his wife Gretta, attends a holiday party in 1904 Dublin, thrown at the home of his two elderly aunts. Throughout the evening guests sing, dance, eat and drink while outside snow gently falls, and Gabriel and his wife contemplate their pasts, futures, happiness, life and ultimately, death.

One of the most acclaimed short stories of all time, "The Dead" was previously adapted as a film by John Huston (The Dead, 1987) and as a 1999 Broadway Musical (James Joyce's THE DEAD) which won the 1999 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. This will be the first immersive adaptation.

Tickets to The Dead, 1904 are priced at $300 and include dinner and drinks, and are on sale now through Irish Rep's box office by calling 212-727-2737, or online at www.irishrep.org. The Dead, 1904 is also available for group bookings. A minimum of 35 pairs of premium tickets to The Dead, 1904 will be made available for $19.04 through a lottery system. There will be opportunities for several audience members, including lottery winners, to be served dinner with the cast as they play the dinner scene. More information about the lottery will be announced as it becomes available.

THE DEAD, 1904 will be produced by Irish Repertory Theatre and Dot Dot Productions in association with the American Irish Historical Society, along with producer Kathleen Begala and associate producer Laurie Eustis.