Thursday , March 28 2024
The one-night-only show will include performances by Gabriel Byrne, Olympia Dukakis, Melissa Errico, Colum McCann, Peter Gallagher, John Slattery ('Mad Men'), and more.

Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker to Host Irish Repertory Theatre Gala Benefit Marking Yeats’ 150th Birthday Anniversary

sarah jessica parker matthew broderick irish repertory theatre yeats a celebrationOn Monday, June 8, the Irish Repertory Theatre will honor William Butler Yeats with “YEATS: The Celebration,” a gala benefit on the occasion of the poet’s 150th birth anniversary. Two-time Tony winner Matthew Broderick and two-time Emmy winner Sarah Jessica Parker will host the one-night-only show, with performances by Gabriel Byrne, Olympia Dukakis, Melissa Errico, Colum McCann, Peter Gallagher, Mad Men‘s John Slattery, and more.

Performances will include “readings, dance, and music capturing the incredible beauty, wit, and poignancy of Yeats’ poetry and illuminating the poet’s legacy for Irish culture around the world.” That legacy includes the Irish Rep itself, which has presented works by and about Yeats over the years, including The Yeats Project (2008-2009), An Evening in New York with W.B. Yeats and John Quinn (2001-2002), The Yeats Plays (1996-1997), and, way back in the company’s founding season, Yeats! A Celebration (1998-1989).

Though best known for his poetry, Yeats was an avid if mostly none-too-successful playwright as well. Born on June 13, 1865 in County Sligo, the Nobel Prize winner maintained a deep love for the theatre throughout his career, returning to the dramatic form again and again. His works ranged from the relatively colloquial Words Upon the Window-Pane, his most successful play from a dramatic standpoint, to mystical-poetical works like The Dreaming of the Bones and A Full Moon in March.

The Death of Cuchulain dates from 1939, the year of the poet’s own demise.

What comes out of the mountain
Where men first shed their blood?
Who thought Cuchulain till it seemed
He stood where they had stood?

“YEATS: The Celebration” will begin at 7pm on Monday, June 8th at Town Hall, 123 West 43 St., New York City, with a dinner to follow (at Sardi’s, where else?). Single tickets which start at $100 are available online or by calling 1-800-982-2787. Premium seating packages start at $350. You can get more information by calling (212)-255-0270 or emailing [email protected].

 

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About Jon Sobel

Jon Sobel is Publisher and Executive Editor of Blogcritics as well as lead editor of the Culture & Society section. As a writer he contributes most often to Music, where he covers classical music (old and new) and other genres, and Culture, where he reviews NYC theater. Through Oren Hope Marketing and Copywriting at http://www.orenhope.com/ you can hire him to write or edit whatever marketing or journalistic materials your heart desires. Jon also writes the blog Park Odyssey at http://parkodyssey.blogspot.com/ where he is on a mission to visit every park in New York City. He has also been a part-time working musician, including as lead singer, songwriter, and bass player for Whisperado.

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