Theater News

The Home Place and Off the Meter, on the Record Both Extend at Irish Rep

Two off-Broadway premieres add performances to their runs.

Stephen Pilkington, Christopher Randolph, Polly McKie, and John Windsor-Cunningham in a scene from The Home Place, directed by Charlotte Moore at the Irish Repertory Theatre.
Stephen Pilkington, Christopher Randolph, Polly McKie, and John Windsor-Cunningham in a scene from The Home Place, directed by Charlotte Moore at the Irish Repertory Theatre.
(© Carol Rosegg)

Irish Repertory Theatre has announced extensions for both of its current productions: the New York premiere of Brian Friel's The Home Place and the world premiere of Off the Meter, on the Record, written and performed by John McDonagh. Directed by Charlotte Moore, The Home Place began performances on September 27 and opened on October 10 for a limited run now through December 17 on the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage. Directed by Ciarán O’Reilly, Off the Meter, on the Record began performances on October 6 on the W. Scott McLucas Studio Stage, officially opening on October 17, and will now run through November 18.

The Home Place is described as follows: "In the hot Donegal August of 1878, the fruits of Colonialism and the ambiguities of loyalty are tested within the background of impossible love. Christopher Gore, the liberal minded Anglo-Irish landlord and his son David, reside at The Lodge with their "chatelaine" Margaret, with whom they are both in love. Christopher's cousin, Dr. Richard Gore arrives with the intention of pursuing a Darwin-inspired scientific theory: by measuring the craniums of the indigenous Irish, he hopes to crack the genetic code of the indigenes…demonstrating their inferior place in the natural order. Set in the era of the rumblings of violence and uncertainty at the dawn of The Home Rule movement, Brian Friel explores the aftermath of Dr. Gore's experiment as deep animosity is dangerously ignited amongst the suspicious villagers of Ballybeg."

The cast of The Home Place features Logan Riley Bruner as Tommy Boyle, Andrea Lynn Green as Sally Cavanagh, Johnny Hopkins as Con Doherty, Robert Langdon Lloyd as Clement O'Donnell, Ed Malone as David Gore, Polly McKie as Mary Sweeney, Rachel Pickup as Margaret O’Donnell, Stephen Pilkington as Perkins, Christopher Randolph as Dr. Richard Gore, Gordon Tashjian as Johnny MacLoone, and John Windsor-Cunningham as Christopher Gore.

Off the Meter, on the Record is described as "a pithy social commentary from New York's most recognizable cab driver about life spent behind the wheel. John McDonagh, veteran WBAI Radio host in NY, has condensed thirty plus years of activism, reality show antics and observation into a love song to the city that never sleeps. From the plight of the NYC homeless to the crazy demands of Upper East Side matrons, McDonagh brings the audience from laughter to tears and back again faster than the apparition of umbrella dealers on a rainy day. Throw in his tales of brushes with the rich and famous such as driving Stephen Fry to a Queens social club and you have Irish storytelling at its best."

For tickets to The Home Place, click here.

For tickets to Off the Meter, On the Record, click here.