LIGHTHOUSE: AN IMMERSIVE DRINKING MUSICAL To Debut At Edinburgh Fringe Festival
The musical follows the journey of an Irish pub owner and her customers as they try to keep her pub open during the coronavirus pandemic in NYC.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Mar. 17, 2022
The world debut of Emmy award winner Jacki Thrapp's new Irish-American musical "Lighthouse" will take place at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
The upbeat musical, full of original drinking songs and step dancing numbers, follows the journey of an Irish pub owner and her customers as they try to keep her pub open during the coronavirus pandemic in NYC.
"This musical is about finding light in dark times," said Thrapp. "I'm obsessed with Irish pubs. When the pandemic hit, I did everything I could to support my favorite Irish bars like St. Pat's Bar & Grill in Midtown, Swift Hibernian Lounge and Molly's Shebeen. Rain or snow the pub owners were working - sometimes alone - to keep their business alive and their resilience is a journey worth sharing."
The New York State Restaurant association reports 4,500 restaurants based in NYC closed forever during the pandemic - which is 1 in 6 restaurants. Dozens of the closures were Irish pubs.
Thrapp revealed some song names exclusively to BroadwayWorld including: "Stone Street," "Love Starts With A Pint," "Half A Pint Left" and "Sammy's Back From Sea."
"Pubs provided a community in a time of serious loneliness - even if we had to stand six feet apart and drink Guinness on a sidewalk - we found a reason to cheers. In the song 'Love Starts With A Pint' I even wrote the lyric 'Cheers to you, cheers to me, cheers to everything that may or may not be" because nobody knew what the next day would bring but we'd still celebrate that it would come," Thrapp said.
The book, music and lyrics are written by Emmy Award winner Jacki Thrapp (Off-Broadway's "Good Morning New York") with additional material by chart-topping composer Billy Recce ("Little Black Book" & Off-Broadway's "A Musical About Star Wars") and orchestrations by Niall Vallely. Directed by Broadway and TV actress Georgia Warner. Starring Jacki Thrapp, Bobby Allan (Off-Broadway's "Good Morning New York" & "Chick Flix") and additional cast members to be announced.
"Jacki and I have been exploring the prospect of working together for nearly a year, compiling lists of works that 'sparked joy' in both of us—little did I know, she had this gem of a musical she'd been writing from scratch! 'Lighthouse' has an unabashed silliness about it, which I'm always drawn to, with a healthy balance of quirk and heart; and, having lost my grandfather Tony Walton earlier this month—a director of Irish theatre, whose first Broadway show was penned by Noel Coward (one of the few writers to always write his own book, music, and lyrics; as Jacki has done so beautifully here)—the kismet of 'Lighthouse' being my musical directorial debut is not lost on me. I'm honored and delighted to come on board, and help share this uplifting romp with the lot of yeh!” Warner said.
The world debut of Lighthouse will be August 22-27 at Greenside's Forrest Theater at Infirmary Street (6 Infirmary St, Edinburgh EH1 1LS, United Kingdom). Tickets range from £12.00 - £15.00 and include two free alcoholic drinks for attendees of age.
Masks will not be worn by the cast in the musical.
Tickets go on sale April 7, 2022.
For more information visit: https://www.edfringe.com/
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