Kate Mulgrew to Star in Irish Rep Production of The Beacon

The Irish Repertory Theatre has revealed two productions for their fall 2024 lineup, with Nancy Harris’s The Beacon running September 11-November 3 at the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage, and The Dead, 1904 running at the American Irish Historical Society November 6-January 5, 2025.

Kate Mulgrew will lead The Beacon, which explores a tragic accident, a dead husband; accusations resurfaced by a true crime podcast. Everyone will have a different interpretation — when you look at it, what do you see? Renowned artist Beiv has left her suburban Dublin home for a secluded cottage on the coast of Cork, but her estranged son, Colm, soon returns, stirring up a shadowy past.

Marc Atkinson Borrull will direct the production, which will feature set design by Colm McNally, costume design by Orla Long, lighting design by Colm McNally, sound design by Liam Bellman-Sharpe, and properties by Nicole Rozanski.

The Dead, 1904 will be staged in the American Irish Historical Society’s early 20th century Upper East Side townhouse, offering an immersive adaption of James Joyce’s novella “The Dead” for just 48 audiences members per night. The story centers on a holiday gathering on January 6, 1904, in the Dublin home of two elderly sisters Kate and Julia Morkan, and their niece, Mary Jane. The party is attended by students, friends, a celebrated tenor, a lost alcoholic, and the couple, Gabriel and Gretta Conroy. Over the course of an evening, there are speeches and disagreements – polite and impolite – and when it is all over Gabriel learns something about his wife that changes his sense of who she is and who they are to each other, of what it actually means to be alive, and to be dead.

Audience members will become a part of the story, traveling over three floors of the building, which has been restored to period decoration. As guests of the party, they will be offered a holiday meal from caterers at Great Performances. The full cast and creative team for The Dead, 1904 will be announced at a later date.