The Shaughraun, a play by Dion Boucicault at the Irish Repertory Theatre. Today we caught the matinee of The Shaughraun at the Irish Repertory Theatre, and there is a bit of singing and violin playing in it, so if not a musical, it's definitely a melodrama and how often do we see those anymore? It's a rare look at one of the most popular plays of the 19th Century, and one that couldn't be more different than Dion Boucicault's best known play today, London Assurance, and one which came in for praise by Edith Wharton in "The Age of Innocence." It's also a valuable look-in at what thrilled New York audiences during the period of Harrigan and Hart. The Irish Rep does a fine job, they camp it up just a little, but undoubtedly a lot of winking and mugging was done in 1874 when the play premiered in New York City. There is an iconic photo on the program cover of Boucicault in the role, his favorite, but the Irish Rep program explains nothing about the history of the play which is an unfortunate omission. The run is coming to a close, I'd urge anyone who can to try and see a play that retains its power to charm and to amuse, if perhaps not to thrill the way it must have when Wharton saw it.
Broadway Bridge and Tunnel Test Grade B