See it if You admire Sean O'Casey & want to see one of his best plays performed sublimely!
Don't see it if You have no interest in Irish history.
See it if / to see a great ensemble cast bring a family, in all their humanity, so vividly to life, you’ll feel like you have known them forever.
Don't see it if you can’t stand to see characters you have come to care about get smacked around by life. Juno’s final speech will break your heart. Read more
See it if you want to see a first-rate revival of Sean O'Casey's classic play. The ensemble cast, as well as Neal Pepe's direction is exquisite!
Don't see it if you do not enjoy classic Irish plays. But do see it—this is a very fine production.
See it if You enjoy dark drama about the troubles in Ireland.
Don't see it if You aren't interested in the drama of Irish history.
See it if You want to see a beautifully acted and directed revival of a great Sean O. Casey that made me laugh heartily until it made me cry.
Don't see it if You don’t like plays that delve into early 20th Century Irish history.
See it if You want to see a terrific production of O'Casey's best play. You appreciate great acting -- Plunkett & O'Reilly were born for these roles!
Don't see it if You prefer pablum or vacuous theatre. Read more
See it if you want to see a great Irish play with an extraordinary cast - especially the sublime Maryann Plunkett.
Don't see it if you don't like O'Casey, Irish accents, or sad endings. Read more
See it if The best of the Sean O’Casey’s plays being performed
Don't see it if You don’t like plays about Irish history or Irish accents.
"Starts out as a domestic comedy before evolving into the stuff of Gaelic tragedy...Under the meticulously calibrated direction of Neil Pepe, this production is a gem of Irish realism, expertly transitioning from humorous banter to life-altering epiphanies. The production’s evocative design and lived-in performances...bolster the verisimilitude...As the Boyles struggle to survive in a world where politics and religion aim to keep them down, their potent emotions are self-explanatory."
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"Jack has the flashiest part, and Mr. O’Reilly, who also played him in 2013, is equally fine this time around...Nevertheless, it is the actor who plays Juno on whose stooped shoulders rests the ultimate success of any revival of 'Juno and the Paycock,' and Ms. Plunkett is more than equal to the challenge...Once again, you come away feeling not that you’ve just seen a play but that you spent the evening eavesdropping on a roomful of real people."
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"Performed by a dynamic cast led by O'Reilly and Plunkett, Pepe's take feels fresh and relevant while remaining faithful to O' Casey's nearly 100-year-old play...Pepe gives the play a thrilling jolt of realism in a handful of tense, shouty scenes between Juno and her son and husband that take place offstage in an inner room, making us feel as though we're listening to real-life arguments of the family next door. It's a brave directorial choice, but the cast carries it out brilliantly."
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“It is a work both delicate in its structure and brutal in its implications, a heartbreaking comedy set against a bitter background of sectarian violence, a play that seems to contain an entire tumultuous world...One of the most remarkable things about Pepe's production is how it captures the way in which hilarity tumbles headlong into heartbreak...Many members of the supporting cast deliver colorful and incisive performances that capture the heartbeat of working-class lives."
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“IRT is now offering something resembling a revival of a revival...The cast features several actors repeating their 2013-14 performances...O’Casey creates so many of the ‘Juno and the Paycock’ figures with broad yet subtle strokes of his pen that they’re marvels for actors to take on. The returning players here must have been overjoyed to have another go at them...Well-done productions confirm first-rate writing. This 'Juno and the Paycock' hits that high mark.”
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"Superb, searing revival...'Juno‘'s second act, under Neil Pepe’s stringent but deeply compassionate direction, both excruciating and mesmerizing...Flawless ensemble...By the end of 'Juno‘s' third and final act—its last two scenes punctuated by a harrowing pause that Pepe allows to linger painfully—the party is over for all the Boyles.”
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"It isn't one of those classics that trigger the directorial urge to give any revival an edgy new interpretation...O'Casey's blend of humor and intense tragedy add to its enduring power to entertain and move audiences...'Juno and the Paycock’ is especially relevant...Plunkett is magnificent...Only someone with a heart of stone will fail to be deeply moved when Juno, after two hours of emotional restraint, burst out with a heart-wrenching cry."
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"With his almost sneering delivery of Joxer's obsequious and vowel-rich responses ('it's a darlin' funeral, a daarlin' funeral'), Keating's performance is especially brilliant, pitched just before the point when servility turns into hate. As for Jack, O'Reilly brushes aside his litany of faults to make him a first-rate charmer, capable of snatching a smile from Juno even after he's brought the overburdened woman to her wit's end."
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