The Flea Theater Closes THE PROPHET OF MONTO 9/25

The world premiere of The Prophet of Monto, a comic drama of love, lust and lost dreams by Dublin playwright John Paul Murphy, will run September 8 - 25 at The Flea Theater, 41 White Street (between Broadway & Church) as part of the 1st Irish 2010 Festival. The Prophet of Monto, produced by Solas Nua and Georganne Aldrich Heller, will be directed by Des Kennedy and stars Michael Mellamphy and Laoisa Sexton.

The Prophet of Monto, set in Dublin, is the story of twin brothers Liam and Larry and their relationship with the feisty Zoe, who may or may not be a Prophet.

The third annual 1st Irish 2010 Festival, New York's only all-Irish theater festival, runs from September 7 to October 4. The festival features plays by 16 mostly contemporary, living Irish playwrights spanning a range of theatrical genres and sensibilities. A total of 13 theaters and arts and culture-related venues host the Festival.

Michael Mellamphy's New York credits include several shows at the Irish Repertory Theatre, including After Luke, The Hairy Ape, The Field and Philadelphia, Here I Come, as well as Romeo and Juliet (Petrolab Productions), The Guest (Plays Upstairs), In A Bucket of Blood (Boann Productions) and King John (Producers Club). In his native Ireland, he has been seen in Mother Courage and her Children, Brothers of the

Brush, Purgatory, The Agamemnon, King Lear and Reign Man. He also appeared on a regular basis at the Cork Opera House in The Pirates of Penzance, Oliver, Orpheus in the Underworld and H.M.S. Pinafore.

Laoisa Sexton's recent U.S. theater credits include Lost, Lonely & Vicious at The Actor's Studio Festival, the U.S. premiere of Paula Meehan's Cell at Fallen Angel, the U.S. premiere of the critically acclaimed Ladies & Gents staged in the public toilets in Central Park, Gaslight at the Irish Repertory Theatre, Some Voices at Greenwich Street Theatre, Conor McPherson's Shining City at the Studio Theatre, Washington and DirtyWorks at the Stiff Upper Lip Theatre as well as its U.K. premiere at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival. Sexton's many N.Y. independent films include The One Time, The Standard Man, The Beatle Fan, Maggie's Penance, Death Do Us Part, Blur and Vertical. On Irish television, she was seen in the national soap opera "Fair City."

John Paul Murphy has worked as an editor and writer in film and television in Ireland, Germany and New York His first script won an RTE/FilmBase Award, and he directed Right Now Ladies and Gents at the 2005 Edinburgh International Film Festival (It has since sold to Japanese television). His television credits include episodes of "Foreign Exchange" and "The Ugly Duckling and Me" and more recently the comedy "Fran." Murphy, who lives in Dublin, has recently completed the noir-crime novel Summer of Blood as well as the play The Long Arms.

Des Kennedy, originally from Belfast and currently living in London, won London's Bush Theatre Director Award for his production of The Laramie Project. His previous directing credits for Solas Nua in Washington include Johnny Meister and the Stitch, Woman and Scarecrow and Scenes from the Big Picture, which was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award and named one of the best productions of the decade by The Washington Post. Kennedy's Irish/U.K. credits include God's Country, The Great Ramshackle Heart, Dying City, The Trojan Women, Seven Jewish Children and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot.

Georganne Aldrich Heller is the president of Irish Theatre & Film Production. She served as Cultural Director for the Borough of Manhattan for five years and her many theater credits include productions at the Irish Arts Center, on Broadway, London's West End and European tours, including Paul Walker's Ladies & Gents (performed by an all Irish cast in Central Park's public toilets), Geraldine Hughes's Belfast Blues (Northern Ireland tour and UK/West End), Marie Jones's A Night in November (European tour, N.Y. and Boston), Frank McCourt's Limerick On My Mind, Joseph O' Connor's Red Roses & Petrol with Frank McCourt, Kenneth Branagh's Public Enemy and Graham Reid's Remembrance, which transferred to Broadway with Milo O'Shea and Frances Sternhagen. Her first feature film, Red Roses & Petrol, based on the play, with Malcolm McDowell, was released internationally last year.

Solas Nua (which means "new light" in Irish), based in Washington, D.C., is the only contemporary Irish arts organization in the United States. The company's mission is to bring the best new artistic talent from Ireland to audiences in America. Solas Nua's unique programming includes a full theater season, visual arts exhibitions, literary events including the Washington Irish Writers' Festival, Irish Book Day, and the Capital Irish Film Festival.

The Flea Theater, under Artistic Director Jim Simpson and Producing Director Carol Ostrow, is one of New York's leading off-off-Broadway companies. Winner of a Special Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Achievement, Obie Awards and an Otto for political theater, The Flea has presented nearly 100 plays and numerous dance and live music performances since its inception in 1996. Past productions include the premieres of Anne Nelson's The Guys; five plays by A.R. Gurney; Mac Wellman's Cellophane and Two September; Elizabeth Swados' JABU and Kaspar Hauser; Karen Finley's Return of the Chocolate Smeared Woman; Adam Rapp's Bingo with the Indians; Will Eno's Oh, The Humanity and other exclamations; Jonathan Reynolds' Girls in Trouble and most recently Bathsheba Doran's Parents' Evening.

The Prophet of Monto is supported in part by Culture Ireland.

The Prophet of Monto will play at The Flea Theater, 41 White Street between Church and Broadway, three blocks south of Canal, close to the A/C/E, N/R/Q, 6, J/M/Z and 1 subway lines. The Prophet of Monto will play the following schedule: September 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 at 9:00 pm; September 18 and 25 at 1:00 pm. Tickets are $18 and are available by calling OvationTix at 212-352-3101or visit www.theflea.org. For further information, visit www.1stIrish.org

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