Origin Premieres Theatrical Concert About Migration At Sheen Center

Origin Theatre Company presents a special one-night-only theatrical concert, "The Land of Promise," at the Sheen Center on Tuesday April 16 at 7:30pm, that is part of the Carnegie Hall festival Migrations: The Making of America. Produced in association with The Northern Ireland Bureau and The Ulster Scots Agency, "The Land of Promise" chronicles the impact of Irish immigration on America, with a special focus on the outsized influence of the Scots-Irish from Ulster - whose members and descendants signed the Declaration of Independence, started numerous leading American businesses and have accounted for as many 18 American presidents. Over 20 million Americans are of Scots-Irish descent.

Co-conceived by Turlough McConnell and George C. Heslin, written by McConnell, and directed by Heslin, "The Land of Promise" features the singer Niamh Hyland; the West End actor and singer Eoin Cannon; Broadway actor Colin Ryan, and the rising concert attraction Trí - The New Irish Tenors, consisting of Karl Scully, David O'Leary, and Daniel Curran. Guy de Lancey is the production designer responsible for sets and projections.

The Northern Ireland Bureau is the diplomatic mission of Northern Ireland in the United States and Canada, whose mission is to strengthen links between various political, economic, educational and cultural interests in Northern Ireland and North America.

Established as part of the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, The Ulster-Scots Agency is a governmental organization that promotes understanding of Ulster-Scots heritage and culture, both at home and abroad. (The terms "Scots-Irish," "Ulster-Scots," and "Scotch-Irish" are interchangeable.)

The proto-talented young musical theatre actor Eoin Cannon has been featured on the West End in "The Woman in White," Riverdance (as lead male singer in their European tour) and in the world tour of "Beauty and the Beast" as Beast. He starred in "Angela's Ashes" at the Belfast Opera, which will tour Ireland and the UK this coming summer.

Colin Ryan understudied in the acclaimed Broadway productions of "No Man's Land" and "Waiting for Godot" starring Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart.

Spawned in Florida with the Orlando Philharmonic, Trí - The New Irish Tenors perform a rich and diverse repertoire spanning traditional Irish folk, Italian opera, all the way to rock 'n roll.

South African theatre designer Guy de Lancey is a founding member of the Mechanicals Theatre Collective.

A co-founder of Artists Without Walls, the singer-songwriter Niamh Hyland has toured globally as the lead singer of the rock band Lily Sparks.

Turlough McConnell is a writer, playwright and curatorial producer of unique historical exhibitions focusing mostly on immigration, the effects of famine, and 19th century New York City. These exhibitions have been seen in museums and other adaptive locations across Ireland, the US and Canada. His plays include "The Wars of Dagger John," and "How the Nuns of New York Tamed the Gangs of New York" (both performed at The Sheen Center), "Dear Mr. Beckett," and "Ulster at Play." His latest, "Bishop Maginn: Good Shepherd in a Time of Hunger," was produced as a reading as part of the 2019 Origin's 1st Irish Festival, and also at Culturlann Center in Derry, Northern Ireland in January.

Under the artistic direction of George C. Heslin, and now in its 16th season, Origin Theatre Company is devoted to introducing New York audiences to the stunning array of work and perspectives produced in Europe today. In new productions with New York-based artists, it produces the American premieres of impactful plays by contemporary writers that reflect the diversity of viewpoints and cultural perspectives emanating from the EU's 28 member countries. This May Origin produces the 2nd annual "European Month of Culture NYC," in partnership with the Delegation of the European Union to the United States. In January Origin presents and produces plays by contemporary Irish playwrights from around the world in the annual Origin 1st Irish Theatre Festival, New York's only all-Irish theatre festival.

Since its founding in 2002, Origin has introduced works by 264 playwrights to US audiences, from such countries as the Netherlands, Sweden, Romania, Macedonia, Norway, Italy, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Carnegie Hall's Migrations: The Making of America honors the many contributions - cultural, social and political - of the people who helped build this country and define what it means to be American. It began on March 9 and runs through May.

"The Land of Promise," a unique theatrical concert conceived by Turlough McConnell and George C. Heslin, plays one-night-only at the Sheen Center, 18 Bleecker Street, on Tuesday April 16 at 7:30pm. For tickets, which are $35, call the Sheen Center box office at 212-925-2812. For more information or to purchase tickets online visit www.origintheatre.org