Review: SONGS OF IRELAND Brings a Smile to the Heart

There is nothing like Celtic music to bring a lift to the step and a smile to the heart, and SONGS OF IRELAND, a new benefit concert streaming on the Fulton Theatre's virtual platform, Fulton HD, delivers an hour of irresistible tunes performed with impeccable style, charm, and emotional depth by a stellar ensemble, who have a strong bond with Maine theatre. Directed and choreographed by Marc Robin, this beautifully crafted musical revue brings together Curt Dale Clark, Charis Leos, David Girolmo, Cary Michele Miller, Jay Poff, and Gillian Hassert, all of whom are favorites at Maine State Music and most veterans of either the 2016 THE IRISH AND HOW THEY GOT THAT WAY co-production with Portland Stage or Robin's restaging at the Fulton Theatre in 2018.

This concert, filmed before a very small, socially-distanced audience on February 26-28, 2021, borrows a great deal of musical material from the Frank McCourt play, and then adds a section of Broadway Irish melodies, and a set of traditional favorites. In Robin's unerring hands, the fifty-five-minute concert moves with fluid ease and a strong narrative bent through the many moods of Celtic music - from lilting laughter to heart-wrenching melancholy, from boisterous humor to exuberant chicanery - drawing the audience - both the small live one and the larger virtual public - into the heart of the experience. The staging is brisk and lively; it segues from song to song seamless, and the camaraderie among the cast evident.

Filmed and edited by Kinetic with film direction by Eric Pugh, the production values add luster to the event. The two-level set by Sean Cox (Scenic Artist/Bill Mohney, Production Head, Ben Miller, Assistant Tech Director) features a huge bar as its centerpiece and appropriately neutral, tweedy costumes by Anthony Lascoskie, Jr. Paul Black's colorful lighting accelerates the mood changes, which frequently turn on a dime, and Josh Allamon creates a well-balanced, appealing soundscape. Under the able musical direction of Ben McNaboe, the five on-stage musicians - (Ryu Mitsuhashi, Chris Keeney, Jared Angud, Leo Smith, and McNaboe - play with dynamic verve - with violinist Mitsuhashi's taking center stage several times in the performance to deliver some haunting renditions.

The cast has a special chemistry from working together often over the years and a depp affection and affinity for this material, and all have compelling musical theatre stage presences that manage to make the screen medium seem vibrantly alive. David Girolmo uses his resonant bass-baritone with stylish grace and invests sis selections with both humor and pathos from the witty "Mrs. McGrath" to the melancholy "Molly Malone." Charis Leos commands the stage with a feisty and touching "Ireland," Paulette's lament from LEGALLY BLONDE, a tough and funny "Finnegan's Wake" and two beautiful, harmonized duets, "Song for Ireland" and the hilarious virtuoso "Irish Washerwoman," performed with Cary Michele Miller. Miller has an unforgettable moment with her intensely heartrending "Fields of Athenry," followed by the sweet charm of "Follow the Rainbow." Curt Dale Clark once again proves his mastery of classics like his impassioned account of "The Rare Old Times" and his debonair delivery of "That Old Devil Moon." But it is in "Danny Boy" that he stops the show with the beauty and ease of his delivery and the depth of his emotion. Rounding out the cast, Jay Poff belts out a forceful rendition of "The Streets of Dublin," while Gillian Hassert proves herself an engaging storyteller with her edgy, angry, aspiring account of "Woman" from THE PIRATE QUEEN.

As the pandemic continues and theatre is relegated to these virtual platforms, one can only feel blessed that the Fulton HD company has put together a performance that is animated with passion and a sense of immediacy, derived from its live creation, that reaches across the barrier of a screen and into the energy and hearts of its viewers. As Yip Harburg and Burton Lane advise so eloquently in FINIAN's RAINBOW:

"'Tis a rhyme for your lips
And a song for your heart,
To sing it whenever
The world falls apart.

Look, look
Look to the rainbow."

SONGS OF IRELAND allows us to find that rainbow in a world still reeling from catastrophe.

SONGS OF IRELAND is streaming at www.FultonHD.org from March12-March 26, 2021

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