Through March 22: 'Juno and the Paycock'
REP to present Sean O'Casey's classic Irish drama 'Juno and the Paycock'
Editor's note: The March 6 Resident Ensemble Players presentation of Juno and the Paycock will go on as scheduled at 7:30 p.m. The box office resumes normal hours from noon to 5 p.m. and one hour before curtain.
8:22 a.m., March 3, 2015--Renowned Irish stage director Ben Barnes and the University of Delaware Resident Ensemble Players will present Sean O’Casey’s Juno and the Paycock, a powerful and moving story about a mother’s dream of a better life for her children during the tragedy of Ireland’s civil war.
Set in a Dublin tenement house full of captivating characters always ready with a song, a story, or an opinion, the production runs March 5-22 in the Thompson Theatre at the Roselle Center for the Arts.
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Called a play with “a big heart and black comedy” by The New York Times, Juno Boyle and her peacock of a husband, “Captain” Jack, live a hand to mouth existence with their war-scarred son and trusting daughter.
Jack and his sidekick Joxer spend their jovial days drinking and avoiding gainful employment while long-suffering Juno supports the family. Things look up when a visitor arrives, informing them of a tremendous family inheritance. But the luck of the Irish is strained when the realities of war and deception creep in.
“I think this play emerged very naturally out of the working class Dublin tenements that O’Casey knew firsthand,” says the production’s dramaturg Kevin Kerrane, UD professor of English. “This is also a play that has appealed to a number of other playwrights. One of O’Casey’s biggest fans was Arthur Miller, in part because he too saw that great drama can be made out of very ordinary people’s lives and their quiet heroism in the face of overwhelming challenge. Miller once said, ‘That was the thing about O’Casey — his gift of laughter that left you in tears for the human race.’”
Juno and the Paycock opens on Saturday, March 7, and runs through Sunday, March 22.
Preview performances of the play are on Thursday and Friday, March 5 and 6, at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $23-$29, with discounts for students and seniors.
Tickets can be purchased online at the REP website, by phone at 302-831-2204, or in person at the Roselle Center for the Arts, 110 Orchard Rd., Newark, Monday through Friday from noon until 5 p.m.
Prologues — free preshow presentations — take place on Saturday, March 14 and Sunday, March 22, beginning at 1:15 p.m. in the Thompson Theatre. Kerrane will discuss O’Casey and the play on March 14 and REP actress Elizabeth Heflin will discuss her experience with the play on March 22.
Audience members have a chance to engage with the cast members at a talkback in the theatre following the performance on Thursday, March 12, and at an informal gathering in the lobby with snacks and a cash bar on Sunday, March 15.
The Roselle Center for the Arts is located at 110 Orchard Road, on the corner of Orchard Road and Kent Way, in Newark, Delaware. A convenient parking garage is attached to the center.
A complete schedule, directions, and information on purchasing tickets can be found at the REP’s website or by calling the REP’s box office at 302-831-2204.
The REP’s performances are sponsored in part by the Delaware Division of the Arts. Artist transportation is provided in part by Amtrak.
About the REP
The Resident Ensemble Players is a professional theatre company located at the University of Delaware. The REP’s mission is to engage audiences throughout the tri-state area with frequent productions of outstanding classic, modern, and contemporary plays performed in a wide variety of styles that celebrate and demonstrate the range, breadth, and ability to transform a full-time ensemble of nationally respected stage actors who have been trained in the same way.
The REP is committed to create future audiences for live theatre by offering its productions at low prices that enable and encourage the attendance of everyone in the region, regardless of income.
Photo by N. Howatt