IRISH AUTHORS HELD HOSTAGE

The war on terror takes a hilarious turn as Irish authors from the ages are kidnapped by terrorists of every stripe. Expect no victims in this wicked romp that lampoons beloved writers and hated terrorists... or vice versa.

If you are interested in booking IRISH AUTHORS HELD HOSTAGE at your theater, college, or performing arts center, please e-mail us at J.T. Burian Theatricals.

THE DC REVIEWS ARE IN!!!

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FROM WASHINGTON CITY PAPER:

Writers On The Storm

"Snakes on a Plane. Irish Authors Held Hostage. Clearly, we're entering an age of titular precision. The makers of this summer's serpentine aviation flick are still at work, so we'll have to see how they fulfill that title's promise, but no one who catches John Morogiello's uproarious evening of Hibernian scribenapping skits will ever accuse him of misrepresenting the entertainment he's concocted. It is-not to put too fine a point on it-expressly, absolutely, in every respect about Irish authors being held hostage. Elegant in its simplicity, hilarious in its scholastic rigor, sophomoric as only a writer who was a really nerdy sophomore could make it, the 90-minute evening at the Warehouse Second Stage is 11 brisk variations on that singular theme. Each sketch pairs a famous Irish author with a perversely suitable-if chronologically or geographically unlikely-terrorist, and sits back to see who scares more easily. Bram Stoker, for instance, keeps glancing thirstily at his captor's jugular while being told he'll be stuffed into a box and buried so deep he'll be lucky if he ever sees the light of day again. Oscar Wilde, meanwhile, perks right up when a strapping jihadist binds him to a chair and talks of virgins in paradise ("Your cause begins to intrigue"). James Joyce ("Such a terrible lot to do to die to...") finds himself held by an American gun nut who thinks he makes an eerie sort of sense, while George Bernard Shaw is so annoyed by the political apathy of the Latino narcoterrorist holding him hostage that he very nearly talks the poor guy to death. Samuel Beckett, told by a void-averse tormentor that he may leave anytime he likes, says, "I will go," but, of course, doesn't. Though it's obviously helpful if patrons have a little knowledge of Irish literature, it's not really necessary. Morogiello has been clever about supplying enough information with the jokes to make an audience feel smart when it laughs. And as he's onstage himself, he can even make impromptu adjustments if it appears something isn't quite coming across. That's him in a fright wig as Wilde, and again as a goodly number of the other poets, playwrights, and potential pipe-bombers, accompanied by three reliably antic cast members (Terence Aselford, Terence Heffernan, and Lori Boyd) who double, triple, and quadruple in roles on both sides of the author/terrorist divide. And just for a bit of variety, a pair of musicians (at the opening it was Tina Eck and Matt Shortridge) sit at the side of the stage, fiddling, whistling, and singing between sketches. Though there are plenty of Irish authors to go around, recognizable extremists are in shorter supply, and Morogiello keeps returning to Heffernan's turbaned, sexually changeable Arab-"Oscar Wilde had me confused" he tells Emily Bronte (who's English, but never mind)Ñwhen he runs out of other alternatives. Martin Blanco's knockabout staging keeps things safely in Saturday Night Live territory, treating the material solely as an elaborate intellectual joke rather than risking political seriousness. When the writers lock horns with their captors, it's strictly in literary terms. As evenings of sketches are wont to do, Irish Authors feels a bit stretched in its middle section, but it rebounds nicely with the Beckett sketch and reaches a kind of Emerald Isle nirvana with a Brendan Behan bit ("not a writer with a drinking problem, but a drinker with a writing problem") that includes both a rousing chorus of "O Muslim Boy" (to the tune of "O Danny Boy") and some feverish Michael Flatley-style hoofing." --Bob Mondello

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FROM THE WASHINGTON POST:

'Irish Authors': Highbrow Hilarity

At Warehouse, a Captivating Take on Lit's Leading Lights

"If you enrolled a gaggle of 'Saturday Night Live' writers in English 101 as taught by poet Seamus Heaney, they might whip up a droll spoof like 'Irish Authors Held Hostage,' now at the Warehouse Theater Second Stage. John Morogiello's play riffs on a brilliantly zany premise: A crew of terrorists from around the world has opted, for reasons not clear, to kidnap the celebrities of Irish literature. Unfortunately for the terrorists, who include Islamic extremists, IRA types and a militant North Korean, these Emerald Isle scribblers are not easily cowed, even at gunpoint. 'Irish Authors' brims with an erudite postmodern whimsy that, at its most inspired moments, recalls Tom Stoppard. And the play -- glimpsed in a shorter version at the 2003 Washington Theatre Festival, and premiered in its current full-length form the following year at the New York International Fringe Festival -- is structured as a set of variations on a theme. James Joyce bounces incomprehensible "Finnegans Wake"-style sentences off an unhinged American right-winger. Lady Augusta Gregory, noted promoter of Irish drama, manhandles a Basque separatist. A logorrheic George Bernard Shaw spouts crackpot theories at a Colombian drug lord. The scenarios, enacted by an ensemble of four, are enchantingly kooky. The entertainment quotient stays high even when Morogiello opts for easy laughs and, more rarely, arch contemporary allusions (a Michael Flatley reference, for example). When the foppish Oscar Wilde (Morogiello), ogling his kaffiyeh-wearing jailer Achmed (Terence Heffernan), expresses a yen for a cigarette, the Arab tersely replies: "This is a nonsmoking jihad." Later on, mistaking a Yorkshire accent for an Irish one, Achmed erroneously kidnaps a sex-starved Emily Bronte (Lori Boyd). Live and learn. But more often, the comedy is agreeably bookish. Theatergoers with a liberal-arts background will be equipped to enjoy most of Morogiello's humor, but it helps to have a knowledge of "Ulysses," Shavian philosophy and the influence of Noh drama on W.B. Yeats. Morogiello does eke his joke out a little further than is wise, crafting sketches for such less iconic figures as Sean O'Casey, J.M. Synge and Brendan Behan and spinning the play out to 90 minutes, which feels about 20 minutes too long. He also misses an opportunity to ratchet up the momentum and elaborate the plotting. Lacking a sense of build, the stop-and-start scenes in "Irish Authors" ultimately feel a little like "Groundhog Day" without that film's resolution. Under Martin Blanco's direction, the actors deadpan gamely through all the wackiness, doubling in numerous roles. Terence Aselford is particularly amusing as a Sphinxlike Samuel Beckett and a grimacing Bram Stoker (yes, the author of "Dracula" was Irish). Heffernan resolutely shoulders the roles of various terrorists, and Morogiello displays some comic flair as Wilde and a bemused, bow-tie-wearing Yeats, among other characters. Boyd is intense and quirky as all the female characters; she's also responsible for the tongue-in-cheek costumes, which include a bubblegum-pink silk dress and matching bonnet for Bronte, and an extravagant lace cravat for Wilde. Suitably enough for a play so geared toward concept, the set consists only of chairs, a table and an easel that bears the name of each kidnapped Irish author during his or her scene. But on the auditory front, the production is a little more elaborate, with onstage instrumentalists contributing traditional Irish music between the scenes (the performers vary day to day). Judging from the catchy tunes played on one recent evening, the music makes a pleasant counterweight to the script's dizzy wit. Let's hope that Morogiello continues to polish and streamline this clever show. In a further draft, "Irish Authors" could be, well, dynamite." --Celia Wren

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FROM POTOMAC STAGES:
"The author of most importance in this send up of the pretensions of authors isn't even Irish. He is John Morogiello, Maryland playwright and author of this series of sharp vignettes that, in director Martin Blanco's swift and sure presentation, hit all the right buttons to get as many laughs as the material contains and then yield to the next outrageous incident. Morogiello not only crafted the material, he's the brightest member of the sharp cast of four who quickly switch roles and costumes to keep the evening moving while the on-stage Irish musicians try to keep from cracking up. Storyline: Eleven short scenes mine the humor in a series of hypothetical hostage situations. Each involves a legendary Irish Author being held by a hostage taker with a different cause or reason. Pity the poor hostage takers who are no match for the literate intelligence and absolute self absorption of the authors! From J. M. Synge's non-stop blabbering to Brendan Behan's practicality (he left Ireland because the supply of Irish Authors there exceeds the demand "but they are clamoring for them on 7th Street NW!") and from Oscar Wilde making a pass at his captor to George Bernard Shaw's reluctance to quote from his own works because his estate would require royalties that would bankrupt the production, each vignette quickly captures the essence of the author being lampooned and contrasts it neatly with the terrorist, criminal or mental case most likely to respond in the most volatile way to that peculiarity. A first amendment chanting gun freak who declares "If you keep infringing on my God given right to a gun I'm gonna shoot this guy" must contend with Joyce's undecipherable gibberish while Samuel Beckett's captor is a fellow named "Godot" who must get the incident over because people are waiting for him! The more you know about Irish authors, the funnier the material is, but a degree in Irish literature isn't required, for Morogiello builds enough information into the text to clue you in to each important element. Morogiello's spirited performance is matched by his trio of compatriots. Terence Heffernan's North Korean captor whose inability to say "lyrical" renders O'Casey's material "ryracle" is funny (no Molly Malone here, just Morry Morone) but his Basque terrorist who is infuriated by repeated references to him as Spanish is a classic. Lori Boyd makes both Emily Bronte and Lady Augusta Gregory fitting opponents for their captors, and Terrence Aselford sharply differentiates between his gun nut, Transylvanian Irishman Bram Stoker with his garlic, and a bemused Brendan Behan. The Warehouse's Second Stage, the little room next door to the main facility, is a great venue for the piece, small, close and intimate. Adding a great deal to the atmosphere is the use of musicians to play Irish music before the show begins and between each vignette while the cast members make their costume changes. There are six musicians listed in the program, any two of which may be performing on any particular night. The evening this reviewer attended it was Tina Eck and Matt Shortridge and their spirited jigs were a delight, giving a lively feel to the pre show time when you can read producer J. Thaddeus Burian's program notes providing quick bio material for most of the authors - he limits his write up on Bram Stoker to simply 'He was Irish? Well, I knew he wrote Dracula but...'" --Brad Hathaway

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FROM ALL ARTS REVIEW 4 U:
J.T. Burian Theatricals in association with the Georgetown Theater Co. is presenting a genius comedy show of riotous skits at the Warehouse Theater ("Irish Authors Held Hostage"). The four talented comics finely lambast the idiosyncracies and blast the iconoclastic regard given to Irish writers...along with a couple of questionable Brits as well. You know them all...O'Casey, Stoker, Beckett, Behan, Yeats, Wilde, Joyce, Shaw, Bronte and Lady Gregory (?). Terence Heffernan plays the terrorists with dialectal and physical aplomb including Moslems, Korean, South American narcos and Basque. The other comics give highly rated performances with the tops being Terence Aselford's Stoker, Lori Boyd's Lady Gregory and John Morogiello's Wilde. The show is intermissionless with Irish tunes played on flutes and a guitar for skit changes. There is minimal scenery but a most remarkable set of orange, white and green drapes are used as a backdrop. The show was directed by Martin Blanco but, no doubt, there was lots of improvisation suggested by the four talented performers. So all of ye Irishmen...stay away from the pubs for an evening and catch this superb ethnic show. Actually you can take your Warehouse drinks into the theater. Non-Irish, if there be any in this town, can appease their guilt for not St. Patricking by catching this wonderful show. At present, it is the funniest show in town." --Bob Anthony

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FROM DC THEATRE REVIEWS:
"I did not really know what to expect at a show with the rather wacky title of Irish Authors Held Hostage but I purchased my large cup of java at the Warehouse coffee bar and made my way through the long drab hallway leading back to the Warehouse forty-five seat black box. As I approached the door traditional Irish music and green, white and orange curtains grabbed my senses putting me immediately in a jovial mood. In this clever play of multiple variations, Irish authors are held captive by modern day terrorists who in most cases are driven quite mad by trying to hold these men and women of prose against their will. Without going into detail I can say that the entire sell out crowd was delighted with an evening of smart sometimes political humor and lilting Irish folk music between sketches. Director Martin Blanco keeps everything moving at a brisk pace throughout the evening. Terence Aselford, Lori Boyd, Terence Heffernan and John Morogiello all deliver snappy portrayals and great comic timing. Three of the four have performed the script before, either in New York during the NY Fringe Festival or when it was performed in DC at the Source. Lori Boyd in addition to her roles in the play also shows off a tremendous voice singing two numbers with the traditional Irish music duo that featured flute, guitar and fiddle. Costumes were excellent, showing a great deal of thought. Expecially great was StokerÕs Dracula attire and WildeÕs flamoyant outfit. Yeats, Joyce, Wilde, OÕCasey, Shaw, Behan, Stroker, Beckett, Synge and Gregory never seemed as current as when held hostage by a present day terrorist toting an automatic weapon. In a battle of words and bullets the words will always win especially when the gun is plastic. I am happy to report that there is nothing faux about the laughs coming from the little theatre on Seventh Street. --Ronnie Ruff

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FROM CURTAIN UP:
"Over at the Warehouse Theatre, J.T. Burian Theatricals (in association with The Georgetown Theatre Company) is doing an energized and funny send up of Ireland's premiere writers. If you've been following all the Irish theatre that has been happening around town the past couple of seasons, Irish Authors Held Hostage will bring a little fun humor to the fore! Written by John Morogiello (who is also part of the acting ensemble) the show is a bizarre hybrid of Irish writers, revolutionaries, drug dealers and Texan neoconservatives. The premise is pretty straightforward: take a cadre of Irish writers and then inflict them upon a variety of angry individuals who are demanding attention for their respective causes through violent measures. Note, I say inflict the Irish authors upon their hostage takers. That's because these kidnappers have bitten off more than they realize with this group of renowned social commentators. In eleven "variations" Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett, Lady Augusta Gregory Smith, James Joyce, John Millington Synge, Bram Stoker, Emily Bronte, W.B. Yeats, Sean O'Casey and Brendan Behan battle wits with their captors. You may notice that not all those authors are Irish. That's because one of our kidnappers (who include an Islamic extremist, a Basque freedom fighter, a North Korean communist and a Texas conservative) is a bit distressed and over-worked. The humor in the show is intellectual, yet accessible. Knowing your Irish authors helps, but there are enough physical pratfalls and silly doings to keep everyone amused. In addition, the program provides a handy and entertaining primer on who is who. (At the show I saw, there were children in the audience who were enjoying the Samuel Beckett vignette, although I doubt they got the literary references being tossed about.) A little Carol Burnett Show, a little Saturday Night Live and a dash of vaudeville moves everything along rather nicely and keeps you laughing throughout. The only rough spot is with the Korean militant portrayal which veered into convenient stereotyping of Asian men. It's doubtful an actor of Asian descent would have chosen the characterization that was given, so Burian Theatricals might want to either change hostage takers or hire a Korean consult to help them develop the character. As its played now, "Korean" looks like he walked out of a Gilligan's Island episode. Which may have been funny and excusable in the 60's, but simply is offensive when played by a Caucasian man utilizing squinty eyes and round eyewear on today's stage. But that little skit is only ten minutes out of the show and a very small part of it, at that. Basic staging and announcing of each episode harken to the early days of theatre, while an intermittent song interlude is a nice break and the vocals of Lori Boyd and the Celtic musings of musicians Tina Eck and Matt Shortridge are lovely. (The musicians and instruments will be changing each night of the show.) Within the cast, creator John Morogiello has some wonderful moments as W.B. Yeats. His impression of Oscar Wilde's lust for swarthy Arab captor Achmed (played by Terence Heffernan) is quite funny, the James Joyce babblings are a hoot and his Shavian references are fun -- especially if you have seen the recent Washington Stage Guild production of Fanny's First Play. (Though the beard for the Shaw portrayal gives a Marx Brothers effect with its weak costume shop quality.) Lori Boyd plays all of the female parts. As angry revolutionary Maud Gonne, she's building bombs while spurning Yeats. As lustful Emily Bronte bouncing about after the swarthy Achmed, she nicely counterbalances the previous Wilde skit right up to the last coughing fit. (For the most part, the show is equal opportunity at poking gentle fun at everyone.) And her Lady Augusta Gregory facing off with the Basque separatist utilizes some good slapstick comedy. Terence Aselford's despairing Sean O'Casey is great, while his Samuel Beckett brings out the minimalist aspects of the writer's plays in an endearing absurdist manner. As Behan he's a rapscallion drunken writer waiting to meet Achmed at Paradise's gates, quite the joke on the Arab who has his afterlife all planned out. Terence Heffernan as a variety of captors does a great job as the overworked and confused Achmed. The only recurring hostage taker, his confusion with these nutty writers makes him quite sympathetic. Mr. Heffernan also offers up a haughty capitalist drug warlord that thwarts Shaw and a Basque fighter who is toppled by Lady Gregory, which more than makes up for the stereotyped Korean militant. All in all, this show is a fun time, filled with current political references and ultimately showing how the Irish -- a people who have a few things in common with the Basques and Islamists -- have moved past a sense of victimization to a sense of empowerment through their literary history and extensive cultural offerings. So I guess the meaning here is art conquers rage when given a chance. Either that or a pint of Guinness takes the edge off and makes it all seem a bit less personal..." --Rich See

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AND IN NEW YORK!!!

FROM CURTAIN UP IN NEW YORK:
"This extremely clever spoof not only manages to amiably skewer a large number of Irish literary icons (and a couple of unexpected others); it also simultaneously provides rare and effective satire on international terrorism. Fortunately, the importance of neither literature nor global unrest is undermined in the innovative dramatic process. The production, understandably billed as "A Love and Terror Production," was written by John Morogiello, who seems to be extremely familiar with his chosen topics. In sequential episodes, we meet an assortment of noted Irish authors captured in serial fantasies by assorted terrorists. Of course the Irish have been familiar with acts of terror on their own soil for decades, so the present conceit which extends their literary luminaries into more international brands of jeopardy is entirely understandable. An excellent and versatile quartet of actors, [including] Lori Boyd, Terence Heffernan, and Mr. Morogiello, portrays assorted writers from Yeats, Shaw and Wilde to the more recent Beckett and Behan, as well as assorted terrorists from anywhere but Ireland. After all, that area has been well-traveled by Joyce, O'Casey (both also on view) and others. Supplementing the actors are musicians Tina Eck and Matt Shortridge, who provide delightful mostly instrumental Irish-inflected interludes between the episodes. Director Martin Blanco deftly paces and focuses the program for maximum impact and entertainment." --Brad Bradley

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FROM NY THEATRE:
"Tucked away at the Greenwich Street Theater is the winning Irish Authors Held Hostage. Wittily written by John Morogiello and directed by Martin Blanco, the show presents a series of "variations" where famous Irish authors are being held captive by an equally varied bunch of International Terrorists. The cast of four plays many different characters full of life, with richly varied and well-executed dialects and a terrific sense of the absurd. The vaudeville-inspired scenes, complete with cards announcing which Irish Author has been abducted, deliver a charming, educational, and comical show. A working knowledge of Irish Literature is helpful when seeing the play, but it is by no means necessary. Terence Heffernan does a standout job playing his many terrorists, from a North Korean to a Basque separatist to a Colombian terrorist straight from a re-run of Miami Vice. "All these accents confuse me," one of Heffernan's radicals confesses when he realizes that Emily Bronte, his latest hostage, is not, in fact, Irish. His most hilarious turn is the Middle Eastern terrorist who is seduced by his hostage, the flamboyant Oscar Wilde. John Morogiello is great as he plays his way through a multitude of Irish Authors: First there is Yeats, whom no one wants to kidnap (much to his dismay), then Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, and J.M. Synge, but it is his Bernard Shaw that brings down the house as he theatrically critiques his own capture and consequential interrogation. Last but certainly not least is Lori Boyd who is comical and charming. Her turn as the lusty Emily Bronte is quite funny and her old and batty Lady Gregory is marvelous. ...Irish Authors Held Hostage is a delicious romp of a play. Grab a Guinness and check it out!" --Josephine Cashman

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FROM BROADWAY WORLD:
"There's just something about Irish authors that makes them so much more amusing than American or English writers. Maybe it's the brogue. Whatever it is, it makes the charming and delightful Irish Authors Held Hostage a winner of a comedy, and a great way for a literati to unwind and laugh at the classics. The plot is in the title: ten Irish authors (and one Englishwoman) are taken hostage by various radicals throughout time. That's it. Nothing deep, here. The authors talk to their captors, the captors struggle to figure out who is really the prisoner of whom, and itÕs all about as deep and as funny as a post-modern Marx Brothers routine. Oscar Wilde seduces his captor, Bram Stoker drinks the blood of his, Samuel Beckett is allowed to go but (of course) does not move, and Emily Bronte isn't even Irish to begin with. It's all very light, frothy, and deliriously silly. There's no need to be very familiar with the authors or their work to find something funny in John Morogiello's script--his sense of the absurd is razor sharp, but never too high-brow to be understood by the average theatregoer. The authors, played by...Lori Boyd, and Morogiello himself, are slapstick caricatures, designed to be funny rather than three-dimensional. The various terrorists, be they Muslim extremists, Midwestern militiamen, Columbian drug lords, or Basque separatists, are deliciously funny buffoons, almost all played by Terence Heffernan in a multitude of accents. Tina Eck and Matt Shortridge bridge scenes with traditional Irish music, and Lori Boyd often joins in to sing. It gives the audience a chance to catch its collective breath during the pauses, and keeps the mood going throughout scene changes. In a Fringe Fest filled with dark, intense dramas and pointed political satire, it's quite nice to have a truly silly and enjoyable comedy that makes no pretense to a deeper meaning. Irish Authors Held Hostage is just meant to be fun, and it succeeds admirably." --Jena Tesse Fox

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FROM AMERICAN THEATRE WEB:
"In comic variations on a single theme, author John Morogiello imagines what it would be like if a series of Irish authors--Yeats, Joyce, Wilde, Beckett, to name a few--were taken hostage by terrorists... A familiarity with these authors is helpful but not required... A capable cast... [including] Lori Boyd, John Morogiello, Terence Heffernan--brings the assortment of hostages and hostage-takers to life... If you're a fan of Irish literature, or perhaps its greatest enemy, Irish Authors Held Hostage may capture your interest." --Laura Shea

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Also check out profiles of the show from the Washington Post, the Maryland Gazette, and the Montgomery Village News