Irish Rep Announces Four-Week Extension of DONNYBROOK thru April 28

Irish Repertory Theatre announces a four-week extension of Donnybrook!-a musical based on the movie "The Quiet Man," with music and lyrics by Johnny Burke and book by Robert E. McEnroe-with Off-Broadway performances now set to run through April 28 on the company's Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage Theatre (132 West 22nd Street). Charlotte Moore (2012 Callaway Award finalist for DANCING AT LUGHNASA) directs.

John Ford's Oscar winning "The Quiet Man" is one of the best-loved and most popular films of all time. Its musical adaptation, Donnybrook!, begins with the haunting love theme, Richard Farrelly's "The Isle of Innisfree" and marches jauntily through the misty hills of the west of Ireland with a cast of characters headed by the indomitable Mary Kate Danaher, and her counterpart, American prizefighter Sean Enright who, against his strong wishes, has not yet fought his last battle.

Woven so beautifully in the landscape of this classic Irish tale, are the raucous traditional Irish classics intertwined with Johnny Burke's startling original, beautiful melodies sung by a cast of award-winning Broadway artists. "The Quiet Man" in all its noisy glory, is alive and well on the stage of The Irish Repertory Theatre, celebrating its 25th Anniversary Season.

The cast of Donnybrook! currently features James Barbour as Sean; Jenny Powers as Mary Kate; and Ted Koch as Will; with Samuel Cohen, PatRick Cummings, Terry Donnelly, Kathy Fitzgerald, Mary Mallen, Barbara Marineau, Kern McFadden, Kevin McGuire, and David Sitler.

DONNYBROOK! features choreography by Barry McNabb. Musical Direction is by John Bell. The production has scenic design by James Noone; lighting design by Brian Nason; costume design by Linda Fisher; sound design by Zachary Williamson; and hair & wig design by Robert-Charles
Vallance. Production Stage Manager is Pamela Brusoski. Assistant Stage Manager is Rebecca C. Monroe.

Johnny Burke is regarded as one of the finest lyricists of popular songs in America between the 1920s and 1950s. His songs include "Pennies From Heaven," "Imagination," "I've Got a Pocketful of Dreams," "Moonlight Becomes You," "Sunday, Monday, or Always," "It Could Happen to You," and the Academy Award-winning "Swinging on a Star" from the Bing Crosby film "Going My Way." He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.

Robert E. McEnroe's plays include the popular comedy THE SILVER WHISTLE, which ran more than 200 performances on Broadway in 1948, starring Jose Ferrer, and MULLIGAN'S SNUG. Donnybrook! opened on Broadway in 1961, directed and choreographed by Jack Cole.

Charlotte Moore's recent directing credits include IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A LIVE RADIO PLAY, NEW GIRL IN TOWN, Brian Friel's DANCING AT LUGHNASA and MOLLY SWEENEY, A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN WALES, THE IRISH... AND HOW THEY GOT THAT WAY, and ERNEST IN LOVE. She has also directed The Irish Repertory Theatre's concert productions of OLIVER!, CAMELOT and BRIGADOON on Broadway. Ms. Moore was a finalist for the 2011-2012 Joseph A. Callaway Award for excellence in the craft of directing for her work on DANCING AT LUGHNASA.

Also at Irish Repertory Theatre, with performances March 13-April 5 in the W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre, is the Off-Broadway premiere of Laoisa Sexton's FOR LOVE, directed by Tim Ruddy.

Co-founded by Producing Director Ciarán O'Reilly and Artistic Director Charlotte Moore, The Irish Repertory Theatre opened its doors in September 1988 with Sean O'Casey's THE PLOUGH AND THE STARS. The mission of the theatre was and remains to bring works by Irish and Irish American masters and contemporary playwrights to American audiences; to provide a context for understanding the contemporary Irish American experience; and to encourage the development of new works focusing on the Irish and Irish American experience, as well as a range of other cultures. Ms. Moore and Mr. O'Reilly received the 2011 Eugene O'Neill Lifetime Achievement Award from Irish American Writers & Artists, Inc.

DONNYBROOK! runs now through April 28 at The Irish Repertory Theatre (132 West 22nd Street): Wednesdays at 3pm and 8pm; Thursdays at 7pm; Fridays at 8pm; Saturdays at 3pm and 8pm; and Sundays at 3pm. Opening Night is Sunday, February 17 at 7pm. Tickets are $55-65. For reservations, call the box office at 212-727-2737 or visit www.irishrep.org.