THE IRISH CURSE
by Martin Casella
Received its World Premiere at the FRINGENYC Festival and subsequently moved off-Broadway to the Soho Playhouse. Both productions were directed by Matt Lenz. The off-Broadway production was produced by Craig Zehms, Sarahbeth Grossman and Brooklyn Basement Theatricals, LLC. THE IRISH CURSE has since played in London, Edinburgh, Dublin, San Antonio and Fort Lauderdale. It is scheduled for productions around the US and the world, including Brazil.
The show has a cast of five men, one set and runs 90 minutes, with no intermission.
For licensing, rights and production questions, contact Samuel French Company. www.samuelfrench.com or (866) 598-8449
THE IRISH CURSE is now available as an eBook from Samuel French and iTunes.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-irish-curse/id479869820?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
THE IRISH CURSE
What THE IRISH CURSE is - and how it manifests itself - is the raw centerpiece of this wicked, rollicking and very funny new play. From its blistering language to its brutally honest look at sex and body image, THE IRISH CURSE is a revealing portrait of how men and society define masculinity, daring to pose the fundamental question that has been on the minds of men since the beginning of time: "Do I measure up to the next guy?"
A small group of Irish-American men (all professionally successful New Yorkers) meets every Wednesday night, at a men's self-help group. One evening, when a twenty-something blue-collar guy joins the group, he challenges everything the other men think about "the Irish curse," tackling their obsession with body image and unmasking the comical/truthful questions of identity, masculinity, sex, relationships, and social status.
THE CRITICS ARE RAVING ABOUT THE IRISH CURSE
Soho Playhouse, NY
“Casella is at his best when he’s going for laughs. He gets a lot of them.”
– New York Times
“ * * * * Critics Pick! COLORFUL CHARACTER-DRIVEN COMEDY. ”
- Time Out New York
“PERFECT POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT! IT’S A SAVVY MIXTURE OF LAUGHS AND SERIOUSNESS. The Irish Curse is a very human and even humane play. You will find yourself rooting for these esteem-building sessions to succeed.”
– Associated Press
“A FUNNY AND CHARMING PLAY BY MARTIN CASELLA. THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES FOR GUYS! ”
– New York Post
“ONE OF THE BEST PLAYS OF THE YEAR! TRULY ORIGINAL, TRULY HYSTERICAL AND TRULY TOUCHING! You will be enthralled! THE IRISH CURSE IS CAUSE TO CELEBRATE! GET YOUR TICKETS IMMEDIATELY! Talk about tiny Irish willies is sure to become THE HOTTEST TICKET IN TOWN!”
– Talk Entertainment
"Spectacularly funny and surprising!"
- The Irish Echo
“The Irish Curse covers just about everything on the list of necessities for an entertaining comedic play. With SCENES THAT INSPIRE both laugh out loud moments and quiet weeping, the off Broadway comedy KEEPS YOU WANTING MORE FROM START TO FINISH”
- Irish Emigrant
“FUNNY, POIGNANT AND INSIGHTFUL. Their obsessions are amusing, their hurts are real, and the play is penetrating. Casella delineates sharply drawn characters. The Irish Curse paints a picture that is at once expansive and liberating.”
– Back Stage
“SIZEABLE LAUGHS!”
– New Jersey Newsroom
“HILARIOUS AND WITTY! The play makes some wonderful and amusing statements about group therapy and addictions to pain and loneliness. A delight.”
– Broadway World
"A ROLLICKING GOOD TIME! The laughs were truly explosive and so was the applause at the end of the show."
- Broadway Stars
"A delicate balance between gut wrenching heartbreak and sidesplitting humor. This play will set you free."
- WeLoveSoaps.net
"Five Stars - You should definitely see this very funny show."
- EdgeBoston
"’The Irish Curse’ is ‘The Breakfast Club’ with boners."
- Queersighted.com
“It’s refreshing to see a show that examines how men feel about their anatomies. Casella’s incisive dialogue makes this a meeting WELL WORTH ATTENDING.”
- Showbusiness Weekly
“Martin Casella's THE IRISH CURSE is a breakthrough for all men - both gay and straight! THOUGHTFUL, COMEDIC AND HEARTBREAKING”- Next Magazine
“For women, the play provides insight into the mysterious workings of the male psyche, for men, safety in numbers, and for everyone A WARM AND SATISFYING COMEDY.”- The Irish Examiner
Mosaic Theatre - Plantation, Florida
“Really good theater…’ Irish Curse’ is a blessing.” - The Miami Herald
“A top-notch night of theater.”
- South Florida Theater Review
“A smart, sharp piece… that runs from hilarious to tragic and back again… This is an evening of theatre that resonates long after the show is over."
- MiamiArtZine.com
“Wickedly funny and brutally honest… Kudos to the playwright… one of the funniest comedies to play this area in some time."
- Florida Media News / ENV Magazine
“Superb…the story oscillates between deep psychological pathos and knee-slapping, metaphor heavy mirth…making you laugh harder than any night in recent South Florida theater history.”
- Florida New Times
Above the Stag Theatre - London, England
“An enjoyable ensemble piece that engages from beginning to end. The play offers laughs as well as pathos and is very thought provoking.”
- UKTheatre.net
“Sophisticated….hearing men discussing an issue that is so rarely and honestly exposed creates a fresh take on an old joke.”
- The Stage
“A slice of 21st century masculinity…hilarious…wonderfully innovative.”
- Notes from the Underground
The Dublin International Gay Theatre Festival - Dublin, Ireland
“One of five nominees for the Oscar Wilde Award for Best New Writing for the Theatre”- 2007 Dublin International Theatre Festival
“This witty award winning script from distinguished New York Playwright Martin Casella had the audience in stitches as a group of misfit men – all cursed - meet in
Saint Sebastian’s Church to get to grips with the struggle between size and their self esteem… a fine hour and a half piece of insightful comic drama…Casella writes
characters that develop way beyond waist level… here men are the disempowered ones in relationships – they are the abused, inadequate and as there is no cure for
the ‘Irish curse’ they need to look beyond the structures of machismo to develop as full characters and ones which despite their lack or prowess may appeal to partners
on a different level… this play attempts to go below the surface and to find out what makes men tick, builds their confidence and are the foundations of their self-esteem…
The simple setting and good lighting keep an audience concentrated on the plot, which entertained many and informed even more… well worth a look.”
- GAY ID
“Works as a study in masculinity and vulnerability... a scintillating energy... affecting and believable... a play that tackles a potentially embarrassing taboo subject such as this, and one which successfully tells a simple but moving set of stories”
- BLOGSPOT.COM
Edinburgh Fringe Festival - Edinburgh, Scotland
“Funny, touching and really rather brave. You could really begin to believe that size doesn’t matter. CRITICS CHOICE."
- The Scotsman
“Brilliantly written in a simple but very effective way. FOUR STARS."
- Treading the Boards
“Funny and forthright monologues which reflect men's attitudes to sex, masculinity and the relationships between men. CRITICS CHOICE."
- The Stage
“This sensitively well-written play explores the courage it takes for men to open up to each other in the testosterone-fuelled world. Affecting viewing and brilliantly amusing. The play's eventual emotional explosion prompted shivers down my spine. Splendid! FOUR STARS/CRITICS CHOICE."
- Three Weeks
“An incredible piece of work. It uses well-observed characters to examine the myriad of ways guys seek to shield themselves from a society where they base their self-worth on how they measure up to their fellow man. It will challenge the way you think and perhaps even the way you define yourself. FOUR STARS."
- Hairline Magazine “An excellent job.
CRITICS CHOICE."
- British Theatre Guide
“A wealth of honest, intimate and often graphically comic insights into this least welcome of male problems. If you really want to know not only if, but how and why size matters, then it will certainly enlighten you." - Metro
The NYC International Fringe Festival - New York
“Outstanding Playwriting Award”
- New York International Fringe Festival
“THE IRISH CURSE, in addition to being funny, is also profound. The writing and acting are just that good. This is a subject often joked about superficially, but never really tackled in depth as it is here. THE IRISH CURSEis the definitive take.” - The New York Sun
“Written in cheerfully graphic talk… its essential good-humor and blue collar bonding that eventually ensues proves effective…. regardless of how they personally measure up, every man on the planet will appreciate the truth that’s trafficked here.” - New Jersey Star-Ledger “Well-crafted and enormously entertaining… strikingly original… would seem to have enormous commercial potential and to be a prime candidate for a transfer…the playwright’s goals are serious, honorable and frequently very moving…” - The Irish Echo
“Martin Casella’s witty and poignant new play… unmasks truthful questions of identity, masculinity, relationships, social status and sex in a compelling and comic way… the play is ultimately about hope and perseverance, about the camaraderie necessary to get through difficult times… I highly recommend it.” - nytheatre.com
“Smart and sentimental comedy… Casella offers sharp insights into the male psyche and has a good way with a quip… THE IRISH CURSE is truly blessed…” - Theatremania.com
“It explores what it really means to be a man, and how we are perceived… the dialogue is emotional, political, challenging how we feel about ourselves and how we run the world… delightful… kudos to playwright Martin Casella for crafting something that directly addresses the male organ but is about so much more.”
- offonoff.com “A bittersweet comedy that addresses a taboo subject with warmth and honesty…” - Gay City News
“Casella’s engaging script… has definite potential for pleasing post-Fringe audiences…”
- Curtain Up
“A play about the ways body image can twist our lives. The marvelous script by Martin Casella is uniformly wise, genuine and entertaining.”
- Hy on The Fringe
Soho Playhouse, NY
“Casella is at his best when he’s going for laughs. He gets a lot of them.”
– New York Times
“ * * * * Critics Pick! COLORFUL CHARACTER-DRIVEN COMEDY. ”
- Time Out New York
“PERFECT POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT! IT’S A SAVVY MIXTURE OF LAUGHS AND SERIOUSNESS. The Irish Curse is a very human and even humane play. You will find yourself rooting for these esteem-building sessions to succeed.”
– Associated Press
“A FUNNY AND CHARMING PLAY BY MARTIN CASELLA. THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES FOR GUYS! ”
– New York Post
“ONE OF THE BEST PLAYS OF THE YEAR! TRULY ORIGINAL, TRULY HYSTERICAL AND TRULY TOUCHING! You will be enthralled! THE IRISH CURSE IS CAUSE TO CELEBRATE! GET YOUR TICKETS IMMEDIATELY! Talk about tiny Irish willies is sure to become THE HOTTEST TICKET IN TOWN!”
– Talk Entertainment
"Spectacularly funny and surprising!"
- The Irish Echo
“The Irish Curse covers just about everything on the list of necessities for an entertaining comedic play. With SCENES THAT INSPIRE both laugh out loud moments and quiet weeping, the off Broadway comedy KEEPS YOU WANTING MORE FROM START TO FINISH”
- Irish Emigrant
“FUNNY, POIGNANT AND INSIGHTFUL. Their obsessions are amusing, their hurts are real, and the play is penetrating. Casella delineates sharply drawn characters. The Irish Curse paints a picture that is at once expansive and liberating.”
– Back Stage
“SIZEABLE LAUGHS!”
– New Jersey Newsroom
“HILARIOUS AND WITTY! The play makes some wonderful and amusing statements about group therapy and addictions to pain and loneliness. A delight.”
– Broadway World
"A ROLLICKING GOOD TIME! The laughs were truly explosive and so was the applause at the end of the show."
- Broadway Stars
"A delicate balance between gut wrenching heartbreak and sidesplitting humor. This play will set you free."
- WeLoveSoaps.net
"Five Stars - You should definitely see this very funny show."
- EdgeBoston
"’The Irish Curse’ is ‘The Breakfast Club’ with boners."
- Queersighted.com
“It’s refreshing to see a show that examines how men feel about their anatomies. Casella’s incisive dialogue makes this a meeting WELL WORTH ATTENDING.”
- Showbusiness Weekly
“Martin Casella's THE IRISH CURSE is a breakthrough for all men - both gay and straight! THOUGHTFUL, COMEDIC AND HEARTBREAKING”- Next Magazine
“For women, the play provides insight into the mysterious workings of the male psyche, for men, safety in numbers, and for everyone A WARM AND SATISFYING COMEDY.”- The Irish Examiner
Mosaic Theatre - Plantation, Florida
“Really good theater…’ Irish Curse’ is a blessing.” - The Miami Herald
“A top-notch night of theater.”
- South Florida Theater Review
“A smart, sharp piece… that runs from hilarious to tragic and back again… This is an evening of theatre that resonates long after the show is over."
- MiamiArtZine.com
“Wickedly funny and brutally honest… Kudos to the playwright… one of the funniest comedies to play this area in some time."
- Florida Media News / ENV Magazine
“Superb…the story oscillates between deep psychological pathos and knee-slapping, metaphor heavy mirth…making you laugh harder than any night in recent South Florida theater history.”
- Florida New Times
Above the Stag Theatre - London, England
“An enjoyable ensemble piece that engages from beginning to end. The play offers laughs as well as pathos and is very thought provoking.”
- UKTheatre.net
“Sophisticated….hearing men discussing an issue that is so rarely and honestly exposed creates a fresh take on an old joke.”
- The Stage
“A slice of 21st century masculinity…hilarious…wonderfully innovative.”
- Notes from the Underground
The Dublin International Gay Theatre Festival - Dublin, Ireland
“One of five nominees for the Oscar Wilde Award for Best New Writing for the Theatre”- 2007 Dublin International Theatre Festival
“This witty award winning script from distinguished New York Playwright Martin Casella had the audience in stitches as a group of misfit men – all cursed - meet in
Saint Sebastian’s Church to get to grips with the struggle between size and their self esteem… a fine hour and a half piece of insightful comic drama…Casella writes
characters that develop way beyond waist level… here men are the disempowered ones in relationships – they are the abused, inadequate and as there is no cure for
the ‘Irish curse’ they need to look beyond the structures of machismo to develop as full characters and ones which despite their lack or prowess may appeal to partners
on a different level… this play attempts to go below the surface and to find out what makes men tick, builds their confidence and are the foundations of their self-esteem…
The simple setting and good lighting keep an audience concentrated on the plot, which entertained many and informed even more… well worth a look.”
- GAY ID
“Works as a study in masculinity and vulnerability... a scintillating energy... affecting and believable... a play that tackles a potentially embarrassing taboo subject such as this, and one which successfully tells a simple but moving set of stories”
- BLOGSPOT.COM
Edinburgh Fringe Festival - Edinburgh, Scotland
“Funny, touching and really rather brave. You could really begin to believe that size doesn’t matter. CRITICS CHOICE."
- The Scotsman
“Brilliantly written in a simple but very effective way. FOUR STARS."
- Treading the Boards
“Funny and forthright monologues which reflect men's attitudes to sex, masculinity and the relationships between men. CRITICS CHOICE."
- The Stage
“This sensitively well-written play explores the courage it takes for men to open up to each other in the testosterone-fuelled world. Affecting viewing and brilliantly amusing. The play's eventual emotional explosion prompted shivers down my spine. Splendid! FOUR STARS/CRITICS CHOICE."
- Three Weeks
“An incredible piece of work. It uses well-observed characters to examine the myriad of ways guys seek to shield themselves from a society where they base their self-worth on how they measure up to their fellow man. It will challenge the way you think and perhaps even the way you define yourself. FOUR STARS."
- Hairline Magazine “An excellent job.
CRITICS CHOICE."
- British Theatre Guide
“A wealth of honest, intimate and often graphically comic insights into this least welcome of male problems. If you really want to know not only if, but how and why size matters, then it will certainly enlighten you." - Metro
The NYC International Fringe Festival - New York
“Outstanding Playwriting Award”
- New York International Fringe Festival
“THE IRISH CURSE, in addition to being funny, is also profound. The writing and acting are just that good. This is a subject often joked about superficially, but never really tackled in depth as it is here. THE IRISH CURSEis the definitive take.” - The New York Sun
“Written in cheerfully graphic talk… its essential good-humor and blue collar bonding that eventually ensues proves effective…. regardless of how they personally measure up, every man on the planet will appreciate the truth that’s trafficked here.” - New Jersey Star-Ledger “Well-crafted and enormously entertaining… strikingly original… would seem to have enormous commercial potential and to be a prime candidate for a transfer…the playwright’s goals are serious, honorable and frequently very moving…” - The Irish Echo
“Martin Casella’s witty and poignant new play… unmasks truthful questions of identity, masculinity, relationships, social status and sex in a compelling and comic way… the play is ultimately about hope and perseverance, about the camaraderie necessary to get through difficult times… I highly recommend it.” - nytheatre.com
“Smart and sentimental comedy… Casella offers sharp insights into the male psyche and has a good way with a quip… THE IRISH CURSE is truly blessed…” - Theatremania.com
“It explores what it really means to be a man, and how we are perceived… the dialogue is emotional, political, challenging how we feel about ourselves and how we run the world… delightful… kudos to playwright Martin Casella for crafting something that directly addresses the male organ but is about so much more.”
- offonoff.com “A bittersweet comedy that addresses a taboo subject with warmth and honesty…” - Gay City News
“Casella’s engaging script… has definite potential for pleasing post-Fringe audiences…”
- Curtain Up
“A play about the ways body image can twist our lives. The marvelous script by Martin Casella is uniformly wise, genuine and entertaining.”
- Hy on The Fringe
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT MY AGENT -
Elaine Devlin,
Elaine Devlin Literary 20 W. 23rd Street-3rd floor
New York, NY 10010
[email protected]
212-842-9030
Elaine Devlin,
Elaine Devlin Literary 20 W. 23rd Street-3rd floor
New York, NY 10010
[email protected]
212-842-9030