James Joyce's The Dead at CITY THEATER COMPANY

City Theater Company gets their Irish up for the 21st season, opening in December with a reimagined staging of James Joyce’s The Dead. Richard Nelson won the Tony Award for Best Musical Book in 2000 for his adaptation of the short story that closes out Joyce’s seminal collection The Dubliners. The music is by Shaun Davey, with lyrics conceived and adapted by Richard Nelson and Shaun Davey.

The scene is set at the Misses Morkans’ annual holiday party for an evening of rousing songs, poignant ballads, saucy jokes, ceili dancing, and plenty of pints. Producing Artistic Director Michael Gray transports the players out of Victorian times and into a modern-day Dublin. Set designers Vicki Neal and Richard Kendrick are creating a typical Irish pub out of the Black Box at OperaDelaware. The bar is open for the show’s duration and patrons may enjoy booth and table seating as if they are at the party.

Gray chose the pub setting as a nod to CTC’s early days and the many plays the troupe presented at O’Friel’s Irish Pub in downtown Wilmington. “We started off as pub theater, and it’s a great Irish tradition. The pub is the center of the town. It’s where music is played, songs are heard, stories are told – all over drinks and dancing and good company. It’s a place that teems with life. And that is part of the story we are telling in The Dead.”

James Joyce’s The Dead features the talents of Kerry Kristine McElrone, Paul McElwee, Emma Orr, Dylan Geringer, Mary Catherine Kelley, Katie Donovan, Tim Donovan, Brendan Sheehan, Joshua Dowiak, Rick Fountas, Valerie Hutchison, Jenna Kuerzi, Lily Ozer, Patrick O’Hara, Michelle Ferdinand, and Lisa Tolomeo. Directed by Michael Gray. Music direction by Joe Trainor. Choreography by Dawn Morningstar. Irish dancing by Eileen Moran. Scenic and lighting design by Vicki Neal and Richard Kendrick. Costume design by Lauren Peters and Kerry Kristine McElrone.